Big River
by Gothic984
Summary: Lucas tries to locate the source of power in his domain that is working against him to assist Gail, while Gail continues on her pursuit of the truth.
1. Chapter 1

I do not own any American Gothic characters, this is a work of fan fiction. This story is a continuation of my previous stories Emotion, Old Friends, Family, Difficult Decisions, Reflection, Spirit, Acceptance, Whole Again, Homecoming, Oh Father, Birthday Surprises, Misguided Feelings, New Year, Picture Perfect and Kinship.

It was a mild clear night in Trinity SC and a light breeze blew through the trees making the leaves rustle through the empty Juniper House car park. Most of the Juniper staff had gone home for the night and all that was left in the parking lot was one dark green SUV.

Billy Peele was walking towards his SUV after just finished a long shift, in which he was trialing some less invasive treatments for patients and he felt as though he had been banging his head against a brick wall all day. When Billy agreed to take on this position he had no real experience with mental patients, he had expected the existing employees to lend a helping hand towards creating a better environment for both the patients and the staff; however, his suggestions just appeared to fall on deaf ears.

'Maybe you should talk a little louder then' Gail said reading his mind, as she sat casually on the bonnet of his car.

Billy stopped in his tracks as he was surprised to see Gail, then smiled. He had not seen her properly in a long time and they had not been alone since his case of temporary insanity, when he stupidly believed he could take her from Lucas Buck. He had forced himself to put her out of his mind these days and made himself believe his misguided feelings were due to her being such a close friend rather than a romantic connection; however, seeing how good she looked now made his old feelings resurface.

There was something a different about her which he could not quite put his finger on. Although she appeared to look like the Gail he knew, there was an air of confidence surrounding her even more so than usual. 'Hey there stranger, to what do I owe the pleasure of this unexpected visit?' he asked curiously as he opened the car door and threw his backpack on the back seat.

'I'm bored and thought we could do something' Gail shrugged, remaining seated on the bonnet of his car. She had been avoiding Lucas since she had fallen out with Matt and had been spending most of her time with her family; however, she was going stir crazy with just the company of children and she was in the mood for something different this evening.

Billy laughed and leaned close to her. 'I'm not sure whether your psychotic boyfriend who just so happens to control the law enforcement in this town would appreciate us spending time together'

Gail smiled and stroked his arm playfully. 'Do I look like I care what Lucas Buck thinks?'

Billy shook his head and sighed, the sensible play here would be to go home to his sexy girlfriend and keep out of whatever this was.

'Oh come on William, since when do you wanna be sensible?' she asked teasingly.

Billy had spent enough time with Gail previously to be used to her apparent knowing what he was thinking, he put that down to her being a close friend and it did not faze him these days. He also knew her well enough to know when she was not going to take no for an answer. 'You're gonna get me in trouble Miss Emory'

'Only if we get caught Doctor' she laughed, then hopped off the bonnet of the car and let herself into the front passenger side.

Billy glanced around the car park to ensure they were not being watched, then shook his at his own stupidity and rushed into the drivers side of the car. He knew he would regret this at a later time, especially when both Lucas and Selena found out they were together; however, what was the point in living if you could not have a little fun.

* * *

Merlyn stood on the sidewalk a few houses over from where she lived now, Gail had not returned home yet and she was getting restless waiting around; therefore, she text the only person she knew these days that excited her.

When she heard the familiar sound of the motorcycle she smiled and gave Earl a small wave. She had not wanted to be seen getting picked up too close to her home, due to how quick gossip spread in Trinity and quickly jumped on the motorcycle before anyone could spot her. Earl's appearance in her life was convenient for certain people and she was not stupid; however, she was young and liked his company, so she had decided to just go with it for now.

As Earl sped down the street with her gripping his waist, she felt the cool wind blow threw her hair and it was exhilarating. She had no other cares in the world at this moment in time, there was only this boy and her. She had spent far too long worrying about everyone else; therefore, she had decided it was about time she focused on herself and spending more time with Earl was as good a place as any to start.

Merlyn wrapped her arms tightly around Earls stomach and rested her head on his back, taking in the feeling of being alive. She smiled as the motorcycle began to move faster and allowed Earl to take her wherever he wanted to go, not caring about the potential consequences of her actions. She was free and it was her time to live.

* * *

Lucas paced around his large back garden shaking his head, it had been two weeks since Gail had spoken his fathers name out loud and he was still no closer to figuring out how she had uncovered the information. Lucas had grown used to knowing everything that transpired in his town and the fact that someone could go behind his back to successfully obtain information about his past did not sit well with him.

Gail had been avoiding him since the day she revealed she knew his fathers name and his pent up urges were not making his thoughts any clearer. He had chosen to allow her to take a step back from the relationship as his own mind had clearly become clouded, which he had never experienced before when being with a woman. He needed to regain full control of his senses and regain the upper hand here.

Lucas had decided that he would no longer entertain her secrecy, he had let that independence go on for far too long in an attempt to show he respected her and she had basically thrown it back in his face. No, all bets were now off and when she returned to him he would ensure she was fully aware of who was boss.

Lucas heard laughter from all around him and let out a loud sigh. For years he had been free of his irritating father, ever since he silenced his mortal being for good; however, it appeared that when Gail stumbled across the family plot, she somehow did something which allowed his immortal soul to rise up and roam certain areas of the premises. So far Malcolm's apparition appeared to be limited to the wooded area at the back of the property, but Lucas would not put it past his conniving father to find a way to venture closer to the house.

Lucas was agitated with the whole situation and could not bring himself to look at Gail without his twin clawing to be released. She had well and truly interfered with things she had no right to and whether it was on purpose or not, his twin did not like not being able to punish her. He was still unsure of how powerful her darkness was or what part it had to play here and could not risk a full on confrontation until he understood more about it. For now, the best course of action was to do some digging of his own and see what information he could find.

'Lucas?' Caleb called from the side of the large fountain. He had been calling Lucas' name for a few minutes and was concerned when he got no reply.

Lucas felt his fathers presence rush past the confines of the woods and head straight for Caleb, then it stopped abruptly at the grave of R.B. How curious that an empty grave could have such a strong affect on his nuisance of a father, it made him even more intrigued as to what was buried there and why Gail had commented on it.

'Why ain't you answerin' me?...Everyone seems to be ignorin' me today' Caleb asked approaching the gravestone, then stopped when he saw Lucas' warning glance.

'I ain't ignorin' you son...' Lucas sighed and walked towards his boy, '...I've been busy tryin' to figure some things out and you're interruptin' the process'

Caleb had come home from playing with Boone to find notes from both Gail and Merlyn on the refrigerator, both had disappeared out somewhere and had thought it was fine to leave him alone with their dog. Caleb had not wanted to sit around a quiet house; therefore, he had grabbed Rocky and decided to walk the streets. It did not take him long to find himself at his fathers home and he had instinctively entered the property like he belonged.

Now that he had found Lucas it appeared he was acting as strange as Gail and Merlyn, which made Caleb feel like he was not wanted. It was bad enough that the two women in his life did not want to spend time with him, now it appeared the same with Lucas. 'Well don't let me interrupt your process...I'll go find somethin' better to do' he said moodily and turned to leave with Rocky.

Lucas noticed the sadness in his son and sighed, he could have done without this surprise visit; however, the boy should be his number one priority and it was about time he got back to that way of thinking. 'Hold on son, let's not act rash...What's say we go down to the pool hall and have some fun? I promise I'll have you home before the girls in your life miss you'

Caleb smiled, he could always count on Lucas not to let him down. 'The girls in my life are out havin' their own fun, so won't be missin' me anytime soon'

Lucas narrowed his eyes at Caleb and wondered what his love was up to, then wiped the thought from his mind and returned his focus to his boy. If Gail wanted to go snooping around his business and leaving the boy unattended, Lucas would happily swoop in and turn the situation around to suit his goals. 'Screw those girls son...you're with me now and it's about time we showed them who's boss'

Caleb laughed and let Rocky off his lead, he supposed the dog would be alright in Lucas's garden for a few hours while he was out spending time with his father. If Gail or Merlyn thought anything about it, they should not have thought it was acceptable to leave him on his own.

* * *

Billy sat on the bonnet of his SUV watching Gail dance to the music playing on his car radio, she had convinced him to stop off to buy some alcohol and directed him to this secluded place by the Trinity river. This place had been hard to get to and he had just about managed to drive his car down the narrow path to his present location; however, now that they were alone and drinking, he was happy with the choice he had made to join her tonight.

Gail had not said much to him since they pulled up and was more intrigued with the calm water. She initially tried to walk into the river after staring intently at the water for a while; however, Billy had taken hold of her and pulled her to a safe distance away. The last thing he needed was to return her home soaking wet and freezing from the cold water, he imagined Lucas would certainly have something to say about that.

'Screw Lucas...' Gail said hopping onto the bonnet, taking his beer from his hand and having a drink. '...I've never understood how you guys can stomach this, it's awful'

Billy laughed at the scrunched up face she was pulling and took the beer off her. 'I guess you just get used to the taste after drinking it for so long. Not every man has the class to start off on a good vintage of wine as a teenager, like your other half surely did'

Gail sighed and rolled her eyes, she was sick of the conversation with her friends always turning towards Lucas Buck. She hopped off the car and located her bottle of wine, then drank some from the bottle unlike her usual sophisticated self. 'You know...with how much you bring Lucas Buck up, you'd think you were more into him than I am'

Billy choked on his drink at the comment and started coughing, much to Gail's amusement it appeared. When he regained his composure he stood up and approached her then put his hands on her hips and pulled her to him, with the aim of making her feel uncomfortable. 'As curious as that experience would be, he's not my type. My present company on the other hand...'

Gail could sense what he was trying to do and smiled mischievously. 'You wouldn't have the balls to take me Doctor...Maybe it's best you stick to your safe girlfriend'

Billy had expected her to pull away, not to play along with this. 'My balls don't come into it Gail, you've made it clear before where we stand and that you don't want me taking on our sociopathic Sheriff' he whispered in her ear, after pulling her body to his playfully.

'And you'd take him on if I allowed it? Oh please...you're just as afraid of him as everyone else, you wouldn't do anything to provoke him' she said goading him. She should know better than to entertain any of this, but it was certainly distracting her from her issues of late.

Billy regarded her suspiciously, he wanted to trust his friend but this conversation was going in a direction he should not condone and the difference in her that he initially sensed was shining through boldly. 'It's not that I'm afraid Gail, I'm a Doctor and have to display some control over my actions...God you sound as bad as Selena' he said releasing her and picking up another bottle of beer.

'Well maybe it's Selena I should be out here with' Gail laughed and took another large sip from the bottle of wine, then turned back towards the water. She suddenly felt agitated and wanted to leave. She closed her eyes in an attempt to calm herself down; however, she felt something dark within her rising and she could not push it down.

* * *

Merlyn loosened her grip on Earls waist and yelled for him to stop, she felt a sudden pain surge through her brain and needed to get off the motorcycle. She ignored Earls confused look and walked towards the edge of the road, not knowing what had come over her. She took a deep breath as the pain throbbed in her head and turned back towards Earl, before she could say anything she heard the faint sound of music travelling across the wind.

Earl watched her carefully as she began to walk into the trees, she ignored his curious stare and continued through the woods feeling the pain in her head become less intense with each step she took. She did not understand what was happening to her; however, she was drawn towards the music and quickened her pace when she saw a clearing in the trees not too far ahead of her.

When she stepped out of the woods she spotted he green SUV parked a short distance away from her and saw her cousin stood close to the rivers edge, staring across the water. The pain in her head instantly subsided when she spotted her cousin and she was thankful that she could now regain control of her senses. This whole ordeal was curious and she wanted to understand what had caused the pain she had just experienced; however, she could sense there was something different about Gail and she instinctively rushed to her side.

Gail could not take her eyes off the river bank opposite her and barely noticed when Merlyn came to her side. It was only when the girl touched her arm gently that she became aware of her presence. 'Where did you come from? Shouldn't you be at home?' she asked, not taking her eyes off the far riverbank.

Merlyn regarded her cousin suspiciously then followed her gaze, apart from the beautiful scenery here she could not fathom what was holding her cousins attention. 'I could ask you the same thing...have you been drinkin'?' she asked, glancing at the empty wine bottle on the ground and the crate of beer by Billy's SUV. The Doctor himself appeared to be resting in the back seat of his car, which indicated they had been out here for a while.

'Yes...' Gail said calmly, unfazed by the question. '...Do you see that?'

Merlyn turned back toward her cousin and stared curiously at the riverbank opposite them, something was certainly holding Gail's attention; however, she could not see anything.

'Look closer' Gail whispered and took hold of Merlyn's hand softly.

Merlyn felt a jolt of pain surge through her then it disappeared and her eyesight became hazy. When her vision cleared up she stared across the water again and saw what appeared to be a young woman with long brown hair watching them. She took a sharp intake of breath and started backing away; however, Gail gripped her hand tight and pulled her back to her side. The woman was wearing a long worn down cream dress and Merlyn could not be totally sure, but she appeared to be smiling at them. 'Gail...'

'Shhh...' Gail interjected and continued to watch the woman across the water, '...I thought it was the wine, but you can see her too can't you?'

Merlyn nodded and did not take her eyes off the mysterious woman, there was something dark radiating off her and although she was far away Merlyn got the feeling it would not take much for the woman to reach them. 'I think we should go Gail'

'I think you're right' Gail agreed and started to back away slowly. She also sensed the darkness surrounding the mysterious figure and although she was drawn to the figure, her instincts kicked in and getting her cousin to safety was more important than her own curiosity.

When they reached the SUV Gail signaled for Merlyn to get in the front passenger seat, she knew she should not be driving after drinking a whole bottle of wine; however, she now felt completely sober and something from within her was telling her that they needed to leave right now. Merlyn waved Earl off to go back to his motorcycle, hoping Gail had not seen him and decided to trust her cousins judgement of driving when she had drank well over the legal limit.

Gail turned around to check Billy was with them and shook her head when she saw him passed out on the back seat, she felt Merlyn's hand grip her arm tight then turned around and followed her young cousins gaze to the mysterious woman stood on their side of the river staring at them maliciously. Gail put the car in gear and reversed sharply, the presence within herself rose to just below the surface and she chose to trust the strange force within her which appeared to be guiding her steering to avoid crashing into the trees.

As the SUV reversed out onto the road, she took back full control of herself and turned the car around to head into town. When she glanced in the rear view mirror she saw the mysterious woman stood in the road with wet hair draped over her face watching them leave. Gail shivered as she realized the figure was barring it teeth at her, then put her foot on the accelerator and sped down the road away from their observer.

* * *

Lucas leaned causally against the bar waiting to be served, it did not take long for him to be noticed by the attractive woman behind the bar and he smiled at the nervousness she displayed when approaching him. 'What does a guy have to do to get a drink around here Darlin'?' he asked sarcastically.

Sandra inhaled deeply in an attempt to push down her nerves, she had a crush on Lucas Buck for as long as she could remember and his charm always took her off guard. She had heard a rumor that he had taken a shine to the young Emory girl; however, the way he was looking at her indicated he was free from any chains that came with a relationship. 'You don't have to do anythin' Sheriff, I can give you whatever you need' she answered playfully.

Lucas' smile grew wider, he liked Sandra and may have once considered playing along with her desires; however, she was in her 40's and way past her prime, especially with the rough life she had led. Although he would never allow this to be anything more than playful banter, he enjoyed making her believe it could lead to what she desired. 'Aww Sandra, I'm sure you could give me a run for my money'

'Your money ain't needed here Sheriff, everythin' for you is on the house'

Lucas leaned in closer to her and inhaled her scent, knowing this would send her hormones crazy. 'Whatever could I do to repay your hospitality?' he whispered seductively.

Sandra inhaled deeply and felt a warm sensation in her stomach, she had heard so many things about this man and she would do anything for a chance to be with him. 'We could go to the back room and find out' she suggested, unlike her usual self.

Lucas laughed and pulled away from her, she was getting bolder the more he played this way with her. 'As good as that sounds, I have a young boy to entertain tonight. Can you get me a Root Beer and a glass of your finest Whiskey please Darlin'?'

'Make that two Whiskeys and add a bottle of white Wine in there' Gail interjected, unimpressed at the display she had just witnessed.

Sandra turned to the woman who had interrupted them ready to give her hell, then backed up when she realized this was the young Emory girl she had been thinking about previously. From the look on Lucas, it appeared the rumors may have been correct. 'Sheriff?' she asked, awaiting confirmation of the additions to his drinks order.

'Get her whatever she wants' Lucas said turning his full attention towards Gail. She had not come near him willingly for weeks now and this sudden appearance was unexpected.

'Put your eyes back in your sockets Sheriff...Is this what it's come to? Can't you find someone better to waste your time on' Gail said staring disapprovingly at the woman behind the bar.

'Oh I have someone better Miss Emory and when she comes down from the ivory tower she's livin' in, I'll still be right here waitin' like a good partner would'

'At least you're honest about the way you see me these days, it's about the only thing you're honest about' Gail sighed and watched as Sandra put the drinks in front of them.

Lucas laughed and shook his head, he was past caring about her judgement or the fact that she could see he got a Root Beer for Caleb. 'I'm not the one with the problem here Darlin', now if you'll excuse me I have a young boy that's waitin' for me' he whispered in her ear, then got up and walked towards the pool table at the back where he had left his boy.

Gail let out a long sigh and ran her fingers through her hair. She had been driving around town aimlessly until she was drawn to this place and had instantly felt safe when she sensed Lucas' presence here. It appeared her obsession with Lucas and his past was making their connection stronger, she did not like this feeling of being guided with a lack of control and needed to find away to overcome it.

Merlyn touched her shoulder gently, then sat down in the seat next to her and poured herself a glass of wine. She was shaking after what they had just witnessed and needed something to help her calm down.

'How old is that girl? Sandra asked disapprovingly, then backed up when she saw the dominant look in Gail's eyes.

Gail was too caught up in her own thoughts to realize Merlyn had taken her drink; however, her protectiveness towards the girl rose quickly to the surface. 'She's 22 years old, she hides it well doesn't she?...How old is the Sheriff's companion over there who's drinking a beer?'

Sandra glanced towards Lucas who was too far away to intervene, then got another wine glass from under the counter. 'I think I should leave you two be' she said nervously.

'That's the best thing you've said all night Sandra' Gail laughed and filled the glass to the brim with wine.

Merlyn shook her head after spotting her brother with Lucas and took another sip of her drink. 'We should never have left Caleb alone'

'No we shouldn't' Gail said taking a large sip of her wine.

'What was that Gail?' Merlyn asked, beginning to shake again at the thought of the mysterious woman.

Gail placed a reassuring hand on her knee, in an attempt to stop her shaking. 'The hell if I know...Look, I can only focus on one thing at a time here. Caleb is a smart boy and will make his own choices, we can't interfere with that. This other thing though...I'm getting so close, I can feel it'

'Getting close to what?' Billy asked, picking up the glass of Whiskey he assumed was for him.

Gail squeezed Merlyn's knee to signal her to remain quiet about what they had witnessed. 'Close to drinking myself into a stuper' she lied and forced a laugh.

Billy smiled, 'Oh well, that's fine as long as I can join you gorgeous ladies' he said raising his glass for a mock toast.

Gail looked at Merlyn who smiled at his silliness and they both toasted their glasses, after what she had seen tonight her responsible self had left the building and she would happily drink her unease away.

-To be continued-


	2. Chapter 2

Selena Coombs stood in her kitchen making herself some breakfast, she had chosen to have bacon and eggs which meant she could make a significant amount of noise with pans to disturb her lovers peaceful sleep.

Billy had come home after midnight last night stinking of alcohol. Usually she would not begrudge anyone having a little fun; however, she had been grading papers all night and had been woken up by his incessant drunken ramblings when he finally stumbled his way into her bed. She could not sleep properly after that and as she was not as important has he was in his career she could not choose to lie in like he could, so she had gotten up irritated and was now seething.

The amount of noise was not providing her desired affect; therefore, she picked up a clean pan and launched it at the bedroom door. She smiled when she heard him curse in surprise at the loud bang and he rushed out of the bedroom. 'I'm sorry, did I disturb you honey?' she asked cattily.

Billy glanced around the kitchen to locate the cause of the bang and spotted a pan on the floor. When Selena did not turn towards him he suspected he was in trouble and let out a sigh. 'Not at all sweet pea' he answered sarcastically and took a seat at the dining table.

Selena poured a mug of coffee, slammed it down hard in front of him and smiled when he reached for his head due to the load noise. She would at least get some satisfaction knowing he was suffering with a hangover. 'You're gonna wanna drink that honey, your shift begins in an hour and I'm sure you could use a pick me up to start your day'

Billy closed his eyes at the throbbing pain in his head, he should not have drank so much especially midweek. 'I'm not goin' in today Selena, I don't feel great'

'The hell you aren't...' she snapped then turned towards her breakfast on the stove, '...You chose to stupidly stay out and drink an inordinate amount of alcohol when you knew you had work the next day...Suck it up William, you reap what you sow'

Billy let out a long sigh and got up from the table, there was no talking to her when she got like this. He strolled over to her and placed a kiss on her cheek, then grabbed the plate of bacon and eggs she had just finished dishing out. 'How sweet of you to make sure I'm well fed before work, you're a peach' he said knowing the breakfast was for her and headed to the bedroom with the plate.

Selena stood with her hands on her hips and shook her head at how mundane her life had become, then went to the cupboard and found herself a bagel that she could toast for herself.

* * *

Gail awoke from a deep sleep to an intense migraine, she closed her eyes tight to keep the daylight from making the pain worse and pondered over the strange dream she had awoken from. She had been alone in an old cabin which had initially appeared to be deep in the woods; however, the faint sound of water indicated she was close to a river. Keeping with the theme of her dreams lately, it was safe to assume it was the Trinity River as that always found a way into her subconscious these days.

She appeared to be drawn to the water and she could not explain why, she had even felt the strong pull in her dream and wanted to find the riverbank; however, something deep within her had warned her against leaving the cabin. Gail had surveyed her surroundings as she normally did and made a mental note of the layout of the cabin. She had spotted a dreamcatcher above one of the doors and entered the room to find a large king size bed with an old log fireplace. It struck her as strange that the fireplace would not be in the main room of the cabin, but she had pushed that thought out of her mind and focused on locating anything which indicated where she was.

Gail caught sight of something out of place on the bed, she approached the pillows and found the talisman she had stumbled across in the Wicca store situated in Goat Town. She carefully picked up the talisman and examined it closely, everything appeared to be connected and she felt like she was getting close to the truth; however, she was unsure what truth that would be and it had crossed her mind that she may be better off not knowing.

Before she had a chance to contemplate the matter she had caught sight of something in the corner of her eye, she turned towards the window and saw the dark haired woman from the riverbank that she escaped the previous night. Gail took a step back as the woman banged on the window with her fists, this cabin was old and it would not take much force to break the window. It took her a moment for her senses to kick in and she realized the mysterious woman could not enter this place, she did not know why but she somehow knew she was shielded from her while she remained there.

Gail had approached the window slowly with an overwhelming need to identify her; however, her hair was dripping wet and draped over her face. She did catch sight of the woman's grim smile as she bared her sharp teeth and pointed at her, then she had been jolted awake to the dull pain that surged through her head.

Her dreams had been getting stranger over the past few weeks and it was not uncommon for her to wake up with an ache in her head, or with physical afflictions like deep scratches in her skin. She assumed her dreams had been so intense that she scratched herself unknowingly and would have to consider trimming down her nails to avoid this in the future.

A sudden brush across her stomach caused her to tense up and her eyes shot open, then she sighed when she saw Lucas watching her intently. With the strange dream and her migraine, she had forgotten she had agreed to go home with him in her drunken state. She relaxed into the bed and closed her eyes again, allowing him to stroke her stomach gently. She did not have the strength to fight him at this moment in time and just wanted to lay here until it the pain in her head dissipated.

Lucas watched Gail curiously, to his surprise it had not taken much to convince her to come home with him after he had dropped the children off safely and came back to the pool hall for her. He had initially expected resistance from her, with how close she was getting with Billy-boy; however, when he had taken hold of her hips and pulled her to him possessively, she had not protested at all and was more than willing to participate in their usual fun.

When he got her home he could not wait any longer and had taken her against his front door. She had pushed him down at the bottom of the stairs when they entered his domain, then straddled him and rode him vigorously. He managed to finally pull her to his bedroom where they worked off their frustrations and gave in fully to their desires, he still felt exhausted after their activities and had slept peacefully for longer than he usually did; however, it appeared his love did not have the same good rest that he had.

He moved his hand further up her naked body and squeezed her breast softly. When she let out a soft moan he let his hand trail gently down to her sweet spot and began to stroke her.

'Don't' she protested with her eyes still closed.

Lucas narrowed his eyes at her and removed his hand from between her legs. He propped himself up so he could gaze over her, then stroked her head with his free hand when he sensed she was in pain. 'I suppose as an officer of the law I should lecture you about the consequences of drinking too much...'

'That's not what this is' Gail interrupted and tried to tune out the pain.

Lucas regarded her curiously then leaned his head down to hers and inhaled deeply, he could sense some inner turmoil within her but disregarded that for now and focused on the source of her pain. When he located it he reached out with his minds eye and pulled it out of her, then smiled at her surprised intake of breath. 'Don't say I never do anythin' for you Darlin''

Gail opened her eyes and waited for her vision to fully focus, then glanced around his extravagant bedroom in an attempt to locate her clothes for a quick getaway.

'Is that anyway to thank me for relieving that pressure Miss Emory?' he asked knowingly.

Gail sighed and stared deep into eyes, then took his hand and placed it back between her legs. 'I suppose it would be a little ungrateful of me to just leave' she smiled and allowed him to play with her.

Lucas smiled and leaned down for a kiss, last night had been unexpected so he did not expect anything from her this morning; however, he wanted to remind her of his giving side.

Gail allowed him to kiss her softly then let out a loud moan when his movements became more focused. She could never just lay back and allow him to service her without repaying the favor; however, it appeared he was content with just watching her unravel, as when she reached for his manhood he pulled away.

'Relax love, I don't need anythin' from you right now' he whispered and nipped at her ear.

Gail felt her resolve fading and stopped holding back, when she let go she felt her climax rise intensely then called out his name as she came. She inhaled deeply in an attempt to slow her heart rate and allowed Lucas to pull her to him then nuzzle his head into her neck. 'This doesn't change anything' she panted and felt his smug smile on her neck.

'No it doesn't...I still need to punish you for going behind my back and taking advantage of my trust' he whispered in her ear.

Gail laughed and shook her head. 'Oh please Lucas, I've always been honest about my intentions from the start...if you chose to convince yourself that I would stop searching for the truth then that's down to your own bad judgement, I won't take the blame for that'

Lucas sighed then bit down hard on her shoulder to show his irritation. 'If I chose to believe my soul mate would stop trying to dig up dirt so she could put a noose around my neck, I suppose that was my own naivety...I won't make that mistake again' he warned.

Gail rolled her eyes, then pushed free of his grasp and got out of the bed. 'Firstly, I'm not your damn soul mate...' she said reaching for her clothes, '...and secondly, you can throw warnings and demands at me all you want but I won't stop. You either accept that and get out of my way, or bring it on as I'm not afraid of you and never have been'

Lucas watched as she put on her clothes and inhaled deeply in an attempt to calm his twin, who was clawing to be released at her blatant disregard of his authority. 'You're playing a dangerous game Gail'

'See, there's that warning again' she said sarcastically as she pulled on her cardigan, then turned around and exited the bedroom leaving him alone.

Lucas lay back down on his bed and ran his fingers through his hair in exasperation, she appeared confident and even a little cocky which indicated she may be on to something. It was obvious now that he could not convince her to stop whatever she was doing; therefore, he would have to figure out the best way of dealing with her, whether he was fond of her or not.

* * *

Ben sat outside the coffee shop across the street from the Sheriff's Station as he usually did each morning, waiting for his friend. He had already ordered her a latte and was half way through drinking his espresso; however, she appeared to be running late which was out of character for her. Even when Gail was busy or hung up on a story, she would always make time for their coffee morning and he was beginning to get concerned.

'Hey Ben' Merlyn called and approached the table.

'Hey yourself...you don't know where Gail is by any chance do you? She's half an hour late' he asked, trying to hide the concern in his voice.

Merlyn smiled and sat down in the seat which Ben had clearly reserved for her cousin, she liked Ben and felt bad that he always seemed to get caught up in her family drama. 'I guess she's still with Lucas, he went back to the pool hall for her after he dropped off me and Caleb' she shrugged.

'You were at the pool hall with Lucas?' he asked curiously.

'No!...' she snapped defensively, '...I was there with Gail and Doctor Peele'

Ben nodded and finished his espresso, he should be annoyed that his friends had gone out without him; however, with Rita in the delicate state she was, he supposed it was best that he remained at home.

'That's what I thought' Gail said reading his mind as she approached and looked for a spare chair.

'Here, take mine...' he said and got up to get another chair, '...I was startin' to wonder if you were ever gonna show up'

Gail sat down and reached for her latte, then took a large sip. She savored the taste of the warm coffee as it flowed down her throat and nodded at Ben appreciatively. 'I had to go home and get my car, you know I'd never stand you up if I could help it...'

'Are you patrolling goat town today Ben?' Merlyn interrupted, ignoring Gail's unimpressed look at being distracted mid sentence and focused her attention on Ben.

Ben glanced at Gail who was watching Merlyn suspiciously, then turned towards the girl. 'Well I suppose I co...'

'I'm heading into goat town after I've finished here, I can take you...' Gail interjected and took another large sip of her latte, '...Why do you wanna go there?'

'Why do you?' Merlyn asked smiling sweetly.

Ben watched the exchange between the two of them and chose to keep quiet, he was actually happy to see Merlyn had come into her own and was displaying some confidence. Seeing her this way almost made him forget she had been dead, but then he would picture Lucas snapping her neck and the illusion was broken.

'Ben?' Gail asked concerned.

'Huh?'

Gail laughed and shook her head. 'I asked if you knew where Lucas was and if he had turned in yet?'

Ben shrugged and stood up. 'He called earlier and said he had some business to attend to so he would be late in, why?'

Gail signaled for Merlyn to get up and finished her latte. 'No reason, you take it easy' she said giving his shoulder an affectionate squeeze and turned towards her car.

Ben sighed and shook his head, he should not get involved with anything these pair were up to; however, Gail was his friend and he was protective of Merlyn. 'Gail...' he called after her and smiled when she turned towards him, '...Don't you be doin' anythin' untoward with that girl in your company...Lucas has been in a strange mood recently, so this isn't the time for you to set him off'

Gail put on her sweetest smile to reassure her friend. 'I'm not looking to set anyone off Ben, I'm just doing my job...Don't worry, I'll keep this girl out of anything untoward' she said and headed towards her Mustang.

Ben inhaled deeply and ran his hand through his thinning hair as he watched the pair get into Gail's car. He had a bad feeling about what they were going to do; however, he had done his part by warning his friend and he would now just try to focus on his tasks of the day.

* * *

Lucas walked down the overly bright elementary school corridor straight to the Principles office, he had a theory on how to keep Gail in line after their conversation this morning; however, he wanted to have some fun first. As he bypassed the secretary completely and headed straight to the office, he smiled when caught sight of the secretary's shocked look. He walked into the Principles office without knocking and stood over the man in a dominant manner.

'Sh...Sheriff?...Wh...what can I do for you?' the cowering man before him stuttered.

Lucas' smile grew wider, he did not even have to threaten these days to get the respect he deserved. 'Caleb Temple, call him to your office...now'

The Principle did not hesitate and went straight to his announcer. 'Caleb Temple, report immediately to the Principles office' he said and took his finger off the announcer. 'Anything else Sheriff?'

Lucas shook his head at the nervous man in front of him, then turned around and left the office. He began to walk back down the corridor and spotted his son exiting his classroom. 'There his is' he called out and smiled.

Caleb was confused as to why the Principle would want to see him when he had not done anything, at first he thought word of his deals had gotten around; however, his friends would never betray him like that. When he caught sight of Lucas and the smug look on his face, he knew this was his doing and smiled. 'Hey!...What did you do?' he asked curiously.

Lucas put his arm around the boy when he reached him and led him out of the school. 'I don't need to do anythin' son...you wanna do something with me today?'

Caleb glanced behind him to make sure no-one was watching them, then put his arm around Lucas' waist. This type of closeness to a man felt strange, as Gage had never shown him any attention; however, this was his real father and he felt ready to explore everything that came with that. 'Alright, let's do somethin'...Does Gail know what we're doin'?'

'That's none of your concern son...this is about you and me, not that ol' cousin of yours. Now get in' Lucas said as they reached his car and smiled at the excitement on his sons face. He would deal with Gail in his own time, but right now he would take advantage of her attention being elsewhere.

* * *

Merlyn walked around the old Wicca store, regarding the place suspiciously. She sensed something dark in here and did not trust the simple outward facade of the store, she suspected that there were more specialist materials hidden just like in Abe's Antique store. Gail had wandered off as soon as they had entered, leaving her to make up her own mind on the place. She did not want to come here; however, Gail had taken her to her mothers old place of work and had waited patiently while she had done what she needed to do, therefore it was only fair that she did the same.

Merlyn had felt a strong urge to return to her mothers place after what she had experienced the day before, she sensed she was changing and was not sure whether it was a good change or bad. Ever since Gail took her to the burial ground behind Lucas' house and she had protected herself from the apparition that she had sensed meant her harm, she had felt conflicted. On one hand she would love to have her powers back, it would mean that Lucas would have no hold over her and she could defend herself; however, she was not convinced the source of the power she felt surging through her was coming from a good place, after all she did have the spirit of a Buck inside of her.

When she had been on the motorcycle with Earl yesterday she had been drawn to Gail, their bond appeared to be getting stronger with each day and she was starting to be able to sense her location. That was concerning considering her cousin had managed to lose Lucas on occasion, which meant there was something inside her blocking his powers but Merlyn somehow managed to pierce through the blockade.

Before she became whole again she had sensed her cousin slipping away, Gail's light had began to fade and Merlyn had been concerned for her soul. There was nothing that indicated her cousin had turned back towards the path of light, which indicated Merlyn may have started to lose her own light as she was somehow connected on a supernatural level with Gail. This way of thinking scared her and she wanted nothing more at this moment in time than to take the road she knew.

'You should never be afraid to take the road less traveled...' Gail said appearing from a back room, '...Plodding along like a good little girl doing whatever everyone thinks is right isn't really living'

'And what you're doing is?' Merlyn asked defiantly.

Gail laughed at the girls confidence and began to walk around the room. 'I don't know what I'm doing, I'm just following my gut and seeing where it leads...it beats sitting around in my office writing about bake sales and such'

Merlyn considered her cousins words, she had never just followed her gut instinct and there had always been some structure to what she had done. She may have strayed a little from her orders at times, becoming a bit too obsessed with bringing Lucas down; however, she had performed her tasks rather than make her own decisions. 'I can read your thoughts...' she said honestly, '...well some of them at least'

Gail stopped for a moment and turned towards Merlyn. 'You think?' she asked sarcastically, not believing this girl could read her thoughts when Lucas could not.

Merlyn was not afraid of her cousin but she saw something change in her eyes, Gail's look had become cold as she waited for her answer. Following her gut Merlyn stood tall and began walking around the room casually. 'You think this place was owned by Lucas' mother, who you also think was the woman at the graveyard with us...You didn't get a good enough look at her to confirm your suspicions fully, but you're confident she matches the picture you saw in Lucas' library'

Gail stayed still in an attempt to hide her shock and felt something rising within her, it almost felt like rage; however, she refused to believe she could direct such a strong emotion like that at her cousin, who she had become very fond of after she accepted who she was. The girl was accurate with her statements and that was concerning. 'Get out of my head' Gail warned, in a voice unlike her own.

Merlyn turned towards her cousin and could see she was trying to hide her anger. 'I don't wanna be in your head Gail, I don't want anything to do with the darkness that surrounds Lucas Buck but for some reason I'm starting to feel drawn to it'

'Drawn to it or me?' Gail asked curiously, sensing their connection had become stronger.

'I'm not so sure they aren't the same' Merlyn replied honestly, then regretted the comment when she saw the wounded look in her cousins eyes.

'I shouldn't have brought you here with me...' Gail said turning away from Merlyn and walking towards the door, '...Let's go'

Merlyn felt relief flow through her and quickened her pace to catch up to Gail, then suddenly something flew off the top of a bookshelf and hit her hard on the head. Merlyn fell to the floor and touched the top of her head, then lowered her fingers to find them covered in blood. 'Gail!' she called and watched as her cousin was pushed from the shop and the door slammed shut behind her.

Gail felt a strong force push her and caught sight of Merlyn on the floor as the door slammed closed, she pulled on the handle in an attempt to gain entry; however, the door appeared to be locked. When she looked through the store window she caught sight of something lurking at the far side of the room and somehow knew it was stalking her cousin, she banged on the window to get Merlyn's attention and cursed out loud when she saw how scared the girl looked.

Merlyn sensed she was being watched and could see Gail looking behind her through the window; however, Merlyn did not want to see what might be there. Visions of the dark haired woman who they had discovered yesterday flashed through her brain and she was finding it hard to breath. She closed her eyes and tried to create something within her that could help like it did at the burial sight, but she felt nothing. She was alone in here with some unknown presence and she could feel terror rising within her.

Something brushed against Merlyn's shoulder and she screamed. After believing she had regained some of her power, she now felt naked and could do nothing but stay frozen in this place on the floor. She felt stripped bare all alone in here and all too human, her body began to shake uncontrollably and she felt a single tear roll down her cheek. She had never experienced crying when she was whole, not even when Gage would hit her in his drunken state. The trail of the tear left a tingling on her cheek and it distracted her from the fear she had initially felt.

Merlyn took a deep breath in an attempt to regain control of her emotions, then forced herself to stand up and turned around to face whatever was in here with her. She would not sit quietly and allow herself to be murdered like she had been previously. She had witnessed her cousin being attacked by a rapist who had visited the town with his group not long after she had arrived and Gail had fought him off before Lucas had interfered, Gail had also attempted to fight off the Boston Strangler not knowing she could not possibly win. Her mother had also tried to fight Lucas when he forced himself onto her, all this made Merlyn realize that she came from a long line of strong woman and like them she would not go down without a fight.

Laughter echoed all around her and Merlyn took another long deep breath, then clenched her fists. 'Let's get this over with' she shouted and watched as papers flew up in the air, as an invisible force charged at her from the other side of the room.

Suddenly the back door flew open and Gail ran in, the invisible force dissipated instantly as Merlyn shielded her face with her hands and a burst of light shone out of them. She looked towards Gail confused then let out a loud sigh of relief. 'What the hell was that?' she asked and rushed towards her cousin.

Gail grabbed Merlyn by the arm then pulled her instinctively out of the back door and into the fresh air. She felt safer out in the open as daylight shone all around them, from out here she could see darkness engulf the room and realized that no natural sunlight found it's way into that store at all. Her body let off a sudden shiver and she turned towards Merlyn. 'I don't think I wanna know what that was and I can't even begin to process what just happened'

Merlyn linked Gail's arm reassuringly, it was easy to forget that she was not used to the supernatural presence in Trinity and it had been just as hard for her to process it all when she had been dead. 'Come on, let's just go...I wanna get as far away from here as we can'

Gail nodded and allowed Merlyn to lead her away from the Wicca store. She knew she would return due to her curiosity, it was inevitable; however, this was not a safe place for her cousin, especially when she knew whatever was in there had targeted Merlyn and not her.

-To be continued-


	3. Chapter 3

Selena Coombs sauntered out of the Principles office and slammed the door shut as she left, when Caleb had not returned to class after being summoned she had become worried; however, it was evident that the Principle believed it was appropriate to allow Lucas Buck to waltz in and take a child whenever he saw fit, so apparently she should not be worried.

Selena felt the anger rise within her, she took her job very seriously and did not appreciate the Principle or Lucas thinking they could make a decision about a member of her class without consulting her first, especially when that child was Caleb Temple. It was hard enough to deal with the boy himself these days due to his fathers influence and his lack of concentration; however, it would be even harder to deal with Gail when she found he had been able to leave the school again.

Gail had previously warned that she would take a personal interest in the school if Caleb managed to continue skipping class, she had not made an outright threat; however, she had made it clear that she would start to become concerned with how secure the school actually was and whether other parents should be trusting the staff to look after their children. If Gail chose to write an article on how easy it was for one child to be taken offsite without their parental guardians authority, it would cause unrest against all the parents who trusted the school with their children.

If Gail chose to report on anything it would come back on Selena, as she was Caleb's Teacher. She had no doubt that the Principle would sell her out to cover his own hide and she did not need this stress right now, especially after the fight she had with Billy this morning. Selena took a deep breath before entering her classroom and put on her best smile for the children, it would do no good to disrupt the rest of her class; therefore, she would continue the day like nothing had happened and deal with the problem later.

* * *

Billy sat behind the desk in his office. leaning back in his chair with his eyes clothes. This headache of his had not subsided, if anything it appeared to be getting worse and he cursed himself for so willingly drinking an excessive amount on a week night.

'It's all self inflicted Doc...be a man and stop feeling sorry for yourself, just own it' Lucas said impatiently as he walked into the office with Caleb.

Billy let out a loud sigh and sat upright in his chair. Lucas Buck was the last person he wanted to see today and he certainly was not in the mood to deal with him in a child friendly manner due to his present company. 'You ever heard of knocking Buck? I thought you would show some common courtesy with that false southern gentleman facade you like to display'

Lucas smiled and nodded, Billy looked at deaths door today; however, it appeared he was still up for a fight. 'Well Billy-boy my gentleman nature is saved for the woman of this town, not the likes of you and they do appreciate it...just ask Selena, I'm sure she'll enjoy a little stroll down memory lane'

Billy was using all his strength to hold back his anger at the comment, he would not allow Lucas to get under his skin. 'Well while you two are taking a stroll down memory lane, maybe I'll go get Gail and we can pick up were we left off at the riverbank last night' he said standing up and stretching.

Lucas was not used to not knowing what people were getting up to in his town and his lack of sight with Gail was a sore subject. He had seen her with Billy at the pool hall and assumed the Doc had just wandered in after his shift here. He had been completely unaware that they had been together by the river, as she had failed to share her previous activities with him last night and he felt his anger begin to rise.

Caleb watched his father carefully and instantly spotted the change in his demeanor. He was not a stupid boy and knew both of these men were fond of his cousin, he was also aware that Lucas had been fond of Selena and Billy was now with her. He liked his cousin and his Teacher, he also found both of them to be pretty too; however, they were just girls at the end of the day and he did not understand why men's reactions could be dictated by them.

Caleb had come with his father on some unknown task and this was getting them nowhere. 'I think Gail would rather pick up with M who was also at river with her' he interrupted, trying to subtly reassure Lucas that his cousin had company other than Doctor Peele.

'I don't remember that part Champ, I just remember dancing very closely with your cousin'

'Well, I'm sure Gail just remembers stayin' in my fathers house last night' Caleb smiled, knowing there was nothing more Doctor Peele could retaliate with.

Lucas glanced at Caleb and winked, he appreciated his sons intervention and it had certainly given them the higher ground here. 'Anyway...' he interjected smiling, '...we just came here to check on how you're doin' Doc, there have been some disapproving comments from your staff about some new treatments you've been trialing'

'Since when do you care what's going on here Buck?' Billy said walking towards the door, with the intention of directing his visitors out of his office.

Lucas shrugged, 'I had a good relationship with Doctor Monroe before his untimely death, we went way back...It'd be a shame if all his hard work went down the toilet just because some new blood decided to put their stamp on this place'

Billy laughed and shook his head in annoyance. 'Doctor Monroe was incompetent and his activities here were immoral...If you ask me this place was in dire need of new leadership and this new blood ain't going anywhere'

Lucas sighed and signaled for Caleb to follow him out of the office. 'See that son, that's just plain disrespectful of the dead...Let's leave Billy-boy here to his pointless trials, he'll soon learn how it works around here'

Billy disregarded Lucas's smug look on the way out and slammed the door behind them. He had attempted to keep his experimental trials quiet until he could establish whether they were making a difference to his patients; however, now that he had Lucas Bucks eyes on him he would have to step up his game.

* * *

Matt Crower stood outside the gates of the Buck Mansion staring at it suspiciously, he had just come from an appointment with Ben and Rita over her pregnancy and Ben had indicated Lucas was busy today; therefore, he had chosen to finish his shift early himself and come here.

After his falling out with Gail a few weeks earlier, he had not known what to do with himself as he had gotten into a normal routine with her and this led to his detestation of Lucas Buck to become more intense. Lucas was the reason everything happened in Trinty and in his eyes it was Lucas that had changed his friend. He still could not fully accept the thought of Gail being pregnant with that mans child previously and this made his hatred of Lucas grow.

He knew he was displaying signs of obsession, for god's sake he was lurking outside the mans house in his spare time; however, he was past caring and he wanted to find out what could turn such a good woman against her morals. Gail was smart and had come to Trinity with the right attitude. She had seen right through Lucas' charm from the beginning and saw the man for what he really was, therefore it was hard to believe she would just disregard her instincts and fall for the man she once despised. It was this that bothered him the most, he was convinced Lucas had done something to remove his friends free will and he needed to know what.

Matt caught a glimpse of something in the corner of his eye and narrowed his eyes in an attempt to force his vision to focus. There was a woman stood by a tree at the far end of the garden wearing a long cream dress, her head was hanging down and her dark brown hair was draped over her face. He could not be certain but the woman reminded him of Gail and he instinctively entered the garden.

The wind picked up all around him and caused him to let off a shiver, Gail had warned him from entering Lucas' property alone and he had never felt the need to set foot on this questionable land alone; however, he was drawn to the woman and his caring nature would not let him turn a blind eye when the demeanor of the woman indicated she was in distress.

The closer he got to her the more she reminded him of his friend and his heart began to sink, suddenly he heard a low growl coming from his right and he turned cautiously to see the wild dog Gail was so fond of. The dog his friend had playfully named Gideon took a few steps towards him, then turned towards the woman by the tree and his growls became louder. Gideon placed himself between them; however, when the woman's head shook from side to side in a warning manner, the dog backed up and his growls became lower.

Matt had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach and he noticed the woman was wet from head to toe. He began to back up like the dog, sensing it had been a mistake entering this place; however, a sudden flash of light came over his vision and the woman in front of the tree was Gail with blood dripping from the ends of her hair. Matt rushed to her side without thinking and ignored Gideon's barks, he did not understand what had happened to her but he needed to help his friend.

When Matt reached Gail he placed his hands on her bare arms and was taken aback at how cold her wet skin was. He brushed her wet hair out of her face and gently took hold of her chin to raise her face to look at him. The last thing Matt saw before his vision went dark was the malevolent grin and her sharp teeth.

* * *

Lucas lay on the grass by the waterfront with Caleb, staring up at the clouds in the sky. Usually he would not waste his time with such a pointless activity; however, the boy seemed content here and Lucas was just happy to be spending some quality time with his son.

After their visit to Juniper House they had completed a short patrol of the town, then stopped off for some lunch. Lucas had decided to bring them to this quiet spot to let their food settle before deciding what to do next; however, they had been here for almost an hour and Caleb appeared to be in no rush to leave. 'You alright son?' he asked, turning his head to regard his boy.

'I reckon I am...' Caleb nodded while continuing to watch the clouds, '...You think Gail will be mad for what I said to Doctor Peele earlier?'

Lucas let out a small laugh and stretched his arms out above his head. 'Nah, you were just stating the facts...I'm glad you decided to step in otherwise I may have said some things I wouldn't be proud of, she certainly would be mad then'

Caleb sighed and continued staring at the clouds, he felt relaxed here with his father and wanted to make the most of it before Gail or Merlyn found out. He knew they would be mad at him skipping school again, especially when they realized he was spending time with Lucas.

'You have to learn to put those two woman out of your mind son, you think they consider you when they go about doing the things they do?' Lucas asked reading his mind.

Caleb propped himself up on his elbows and turned towards his father. 'They're alright, I like my space anyhow and don't care what they do...You on the other hand do care I reckon' he said with a knowing smile.

Lucas smiled and remained in his laying position. 'I only care when it involves me son and when it comes to your cousin, I can't trust what she's doin' behind my back these days'

'I'd take Gail over Merly any day, at least she sticks to her word...Merly's too busy with that stupid boy to care what's goin' on with me these days'

Lucas sat up and turned towards his boy, he knew Merlyn had taken a shine to Earl and he was happy his plan was starting to fall into place; however, he was attempting to keep Caleb out of it all. 'Don't you worry about your sister Caleb, she's a big girl and you don't need to be hangin' out with her anyhow...you've got me now'

Caleb sighed, then stood up and brushed the dirt off his jeans. 'I've got you until you get distracted by Gail...I've seen you pinin' over her'

'Excuse me?...' Lucas asked in shock as he stood up and followed Caleb to the waters edge, '...I'm Lucas Buck son, I don't pine over nobody'

'I've seen you follow her around like sick puppy' Caleb said sarcastically and laughed when he saw the look of warning on Lucas' face. 'I'm only kiddin', you do follow her though'

Lucas sighed and shook his head, if it had been anyone else talking to him in such a manner he would have silenced them in an undignified manner; however, he was proud of his sons boldness. 'That ol' cousin of yours continues to snoop into my business...I gotta follow her to ensure she ain't goin' where she don't belong'

'You can't stop her from doin' that no matter how hard you try' Caleb said picking up a stone and throwing it into the water.

Lucas regarded Caleb carefully, the boy appeared to have an understanding of his cousin that he had not realized. 'And why's that?' he asked him curiously.

Caleb sighed and turned towards Lucas. 'Cause she won't stop 'til she's found what she's lookin' for...it's just her way'

Lucas nodded and placed a hand on Caleb's shoulder. 'So what would you do son?'

Caleb smiled mischievously. 'I guess I'd give her somethin' to throw her off track...somethin' she thinks she wants'

Lucas considered this for a moment, then wrapped his arm around the boys shoulders. 'Well that's certainly somethin' for me to ponder over...In the meantime, lets go have some fun' he said leading Caleb back towards his car.

* * *

Ben sat with Billy outside Jimmy's bar, it was late afternoon; however, they had both managed to finish their shifts early and decided a beer was in order after the day they had both had. Ben was still trying to come to terms with Rita's pregnancy and had heard about her check up with Matt Crower, it appeared the Doctor had been acting strange and did not appear concerned with Rita at all.

'So let me get this straight...Matt gave Rita a quick once over then turned his focus to you?' Billy asked taking a large sip of his beer.

'I swear it was like I was gettin' the third degree man! Where's Lucas? What's he been up to? Have you seen him with Gail? What do they do together?...Next time she can go to her own damn check up on her own' Ben sighed and picked up his beer.

'I hope you thought better than to answer his questions' Gail said approaching the pair with a drink.

'Two days in a row huh? Things must be getting to you' Billy said with a wink and gave up his chair with a smile.

'Of course I didn't say anythin', Lucas would skin my hide if he thought I was gossipin' about him. I just said Lucas was out for the day, it's the truth so I'm not takin' sides' Ben said taking another large drink of his beer.

Gail pulled the chair closer to him to allow room for Billy with another chair around the small table. 'Curious on both counts...' she pondered for a moment, then turned her attention back to Ben. '...How's Rita doing?'

Ben shrugged and just stared at his drink.

'Our women are a sore subject at the moment friend, which you'd know if you'd been around lately' Billy interjected to take the spotlight off Ben.

Gail laughed and shook her head, she had been busy with other things she barely had time for her friends these days. 'Oh Doctor, if I didn't know better I'd think it was your time of the month' she said sarcastically and took a sip of her vodka and lemonade.

Ben laughed, he had still been privy to his morning coffee with Gail; however, Billy had not seen her so much and had starting to whine like a hormonal woman. 'See! I'm not the only one who's noticed your mood swings' Ben teased.

'Ha ha...' Billy said sarcastically and finished off his beer, '...I'd be in a much better mood if I wasn't getting it from all angles'

'Getting what from all angles?' Gail asked curiously.

'Well if it's not my staff chuntering behind my back, it's your boyfriend butting into my treatments...usually I don't mind a bit of banter with our temperamental Sheriff but not when I've gotta watch my mouth around a young boy' he said without thinking.

'What young boy?' Gail snapped, but before Billy had a chance to answer Selena approached the table.

'Well had you waited for me out front as planned, I would've been able to inform you then that your cousin had been taken out of class today' Selena said and shot Billy a disapproving glance.

'What! Why?' Gail asked feeling the rage within her begin to rise for the second time today.

Selena shrugged and confidently took the drink from Gail's hand, then had a sip. 'That's a question for the defender of our town' she said cattily and waited for a reaction from Gail.

Gail inhaled deeply and shook her head, she would deal with Lucas and Caleb in good time; however, something had been niggling at her since she approached the table. 'What were you saying about Matt?' she asked, turning her attention back towards Ben.

'Huh?...' Ben asked startled from his thoughts, '...Oh nothin' really, just that he seems a bit interested in Lucas'

'Interested in what way?' Gail asked, she could not get Matt out of her mind earlier and hearing about him now caused her some concern.

'Well I don't know Gail, I was too busy tryin' to focus on my pregnant girlfriend. He just appeared really interested is all'

Gail rolled her eyes and looked towards Selena, who was clearly waiting for a bad reaction in relation to Caleb being taken out of school. Gail could not deal with this right now and got up from the table, she quickly said her goodbyes to her friends and focused her attention on finding Matt.

* * *

Lucas walked up the steps to his front door with Caleb following closely behind, the boy had decided he wanted to spend the night at his place and he was not going to deny his boys request.

'Are you sure Gail won't mind me stayin' here? She doesn't normally like me being here alone' Caleb asked cautiously.

'You're not alone son, you're in the company of the man with the star' Lucas smiled, then opened the door and signaled his boy to enter.

Caleb could not help rolling his eyes at the comment but he trusted Lucas and did not think he would get him into trouble, so he obeyed and walked through the threshold. He was always taken aback by the vastness of this place and would give anything to be able to explore it unattended, as like his cousin his curiosity spiked whenever he was here; however, something within him warned him against straying from the usual rooms he was allowed in and he was not ready to disregard his caution just yet.

'You look deep in thought son' Lucas said as he hung up his jacket.

Caleb peered at Lucas guiltily and turned away quickly in an attempt to hide his thoughts. He did not know what he was afraid of Lucas finding out; however, he had noticed Gail still kept her thoughts hidden around Lucas, even though she was clearly his girlfriend. Although he trusted the man Gail's obvious caution and Merlyns previous warnings were still in his mind, so it would be of no harm to remain a little cautious himself. 'I'm just admirin' the place...I'm starvin', have you got any food?'

Lucas smiled and shook his head, he could sense Caleb was hiding something; however, he did not want to push his son too soon and he was confident he would open up eventually. 'You think I cook son? Nah, that's not my style...If you can hold out for a little while I'll sort us out, I just need to do something first. Is that alright?'

Caleb nodded and headed towards Lucas's study to give him the space he needed to do what he wanted to do, there were plenty of books that Caleb was curious about so he was happy to be left for a little while and could keep himself entertained.

Lucas watched as Caleb obediently gave him some space and then let out a long sigh when the boy was out of earshot. He had sensed someone else on his property as soon as he entered his home; however, he did not want to alarm the child. Lucas knew exactly who was here and knew they were of no threat, so he casually walked to his telephone and picked it up. He had more pressing things to do before dealing with their intruder.

* * *

Gail had returned home to a moody looking Merlyn, who informed her there was an answering machine message awaiting her attention. She had not been in the best mood to deal with anything right now, after Selena had filled her in about what happened at the school; however, when she had seen the look of Merlyn's face, she let out a loud sigh and knew she was not done for the night like she initially hoped.

The message had been from Lucas informing her that Caleb would be staying with him tonight and that she did not have to worry as the boy would be safe. Gail let out a laugh, then kicked the small wicker set of draws that her answering machine was placed on in frustration.

Merlyn had jumped at the sudden lack of control she had displayed; however, she looked equally as angry. She had asked if Gail was going to allow this display of dominance from Lucas, to which Gail just laughed then picked up her car keys and slammed the door behind her. She was now on her way to the Buck Mansion with the bags of shopping she had previously picked up on her back seat.

Gail pulled into the driveway not caring who saw her car or what gossip it would create, she was livid and all her anger was directed at Lucas Buck. When she opened the gate, she caught a sense of something watching her which caused her initial anger to dissipate and it was replaced with curiosity. This was not the familiar feeling that she usually got here, she sensed it was something different and could not resist walking to the side of the house. She spotted Gideon at the far end of the garden and approached him, the dog let out a low whine and rushed to the back of the house prompting Gail to follow him.

When she reached the familiar fountain at the back of the house she ran her fingers over it subconsciously and slowed her pace. She surveyed her surroundings before moving deeper into the garden, aware that she needed to be cautious here. She felt herself being summoned towards the wooded area at the back and wanted to allow herself to follow that direction; however, her dark passenger Rosemary, which she had now chosen to think of her as, was calling for caution and Gail had come to heed the warnings from Rosemary as she herself still did not fully understand what was happening to her.

She continued forward until she reached the grave of R.B, she smiled to herself smugly as she had determined the grave was empty before Lucas had and she knew that had infuriated him. It appeared the all mighty Lucas Buck did not know everything about his property and she felt a kind of self-satisfaction being able to discover things he never thought anyone could.

The temperature in the garden suddenly dropped and Gail felt a strong gust of wind push her towards the woods at the back of the property, she heard Gideon's barks from a distance and turned around to see the mysterious dark haired woman walking towards her quickly. Gail called for Rosemary to take control as she sometimes did; however, her dark presence was nowhere to be found. Suddenly Gail felt a strong hand on her shoulder and she turned around to see the gaunt face of the man she had previously seen in the picture she had retrieved from Abe's house. The hand moved down to her arm and gripped it tight, then began pulling her towards the trees.

'Need some assistance Miss Emory?' came the calm, smug voice of Lucas from behind her.

Gail turned towards him in shock, then felt the grip on her arm disappear and reached for the gravestone to steady herself. 'What the hell?!' she exclaimed and Lucas just let out a small laugh.

Lucas had sensed Gail as soon as she pulled up in his driveway and had followed her around the back of his property. He had witnessed his father lurking in the trees before Gail had even reached the empty grave and had nearly intervened, then realized the loathsome man had triggered a new player to show themselves. His property was full of character, he had grown up with the mysterious presences appearing all through his life; however, he had not come across this one before and the woman had disappeared when he had made himself known.

He approached Gail and placed a reassuring hand on her arm. 'You will venture into places you've been warned to stay out of Darlin', this is on you' he said and gently pulled her back towards the front of the house.

Gail did not know where to even begin processing what had just happened and she was not sure how much Lucas had actually witnessed; therefore, she chose to stay quiet until she had regained her composure. Lucas had escorted her to his front door and she entered obediently, then headed to the voices in the study. When she entered the room, she saw Matt sat cross legged in front of the fire and glanced at Caleb confused.

Caleb shrugged then quietly went to his cousins side. 'Don't be mad at me, I...'

'What's he doing here Caleb?' Gail interrupted, she had not seen Matt for several weeks since their argument and she had not been able to get him out of her mind after what Ben had said earlier.

Caleb glanced towards Matt and leaned closer to Gail. 'I dunno...' he whispered, '...Lucas found him just stood by a tree in the garden, he's not said anythin' since Lucas brought him in here'

Gail signaled for Caleb to leave the room then approached Matt cautiously and sat down beside him on the floor. When he did not move she placed a hand on his and was taken aback by how cold his skin was. 'Matt are you OK? What were you doing in the garden?'

'You need to go back to the riverbank' Matt said, staring into the fire curiously.

'What did you say?' she asked, sensing her friend was not his usual self.

'She want's you to...' Matt started then lost his train of thought as he suddenly felt the flames of the fire were surrounding him.

'Matt?' Gail asked, squeezing his hand.

'Has the Doc had another episode?...' Lucas asked smugly as he entered the room with a bag of shopping, '...Maybe Billy-boy should try some of his experimental treatment on him'

Gail glanced at Matt who seemed hypnotized by the fire and stood up. 'What did you do to him?'

Lucas smiled devilishly, 'I'm not convinced it was me Darlin'...have you studied yourself recently?'

'What do you mean?'

Caleb entered the study and noticed Lucas was close to Gail. 'You're a mind reader cous'' Caleb interrupted them and give her a playful nudge with his shoulder.

Gail stared at Lucas for a moment longer, then turned her attention to Caleb. 'Why's that?' she sighed, trying not to snap at him in frustration with the whole situation.

'Cause you knew we were starvin' and you brought us food'

Gail looked at Lucas who just shrugged and shook her head, of course he would have known she'd storm out of her house without getting her shopping out of the car. 'What can I say, I appear to be clairvoyant' she said sarcastically then turned towards Matt who had now stood up and was holding his head as though he was in pain.

'Don't worry about him Miss Emory...' Lucas said putting his arms around Matt's shoulder and leading him out of the room, '...Floyd is already outside in his car ready to ensure the good Doc gets back to the Boarding house safely'

Gail forced a reassuring smile for Matt when he turned towards her as he was leaving, then she put her arm around her cousin. 'This needs to stop' she said sternly.

Caleb watched Matt leave and looked up at Gail. 'I like it here and you said I could stay here when I wanted' he shrugged.

Gail let out a long sigh and shook her head. 'It looks like I'm having to stay here too then doesn't it?' she said disapprovingly and disappeared into the kitchen.

Lucas returned and winked at his boy. 'I told you I'd find a way to get us some grub'

Caleb smiled and shook his head, he hoped Gail would not be too mad at being tricked into coming here.

-To be continued-


	4. Chapter 4

Lucas Buck watched curiously as a young boy walked down a long corridor in his home. He instantly recognized himself at age 5 sneaking down the corridor wanting to explore the mansion, as his father had always banned him from leaving the main area at the front of the house. His mother used to hide away in her study at the back of the property for hours on end and had created a play area in the room attached to her study so he could be close to her at all times, unbeknownst to his father; however, as Lucas had been aware of all the rooms in the house which had been undisturbed for years, he had felt the need to explore.

The unknown had always intrigued him, even at such a young age and he had taken the opportunity to scout the place on occasion while his mother was busy in her study. He liked to test the boundaries and would go further into the house each time his mothers back was turned, to see how far he could get without being caught. On this particular day, he had gotten further than he had before and had goose pimples all over his skin with the excitement of it all.

Lucas followed his young self as he disregarded some doors, then attempted to enter others that were locked. His young self was becoming frustrated until he spotted a door at the far end of a dark corridor, he approached the door expecting it to be locked; however, the nob turned easily and the door creaked open slowly. Lucas had no recollection of this time, or this corridor so he followed cautiously behind his young self.

When Lucas entered he was instantly taken aback by the thick darkness that cloaked the entire room. His younger self walked into a table and hit his shin, then limped to the window and opened a curtain to let in some much needed light. Lucas smiled at the courage of his younger self exploring this room, when even he could feel a dark presence residing in. He walked around the room slowly, looking for some reminder of what he may have found in here; however, this was all still a blur to him and it did not seem to be coming back to him.

Suddenly his younger self stopped in front of what appeared to be a large frame with a dark green velvet sheet draped over it. He could feel himself being drawn to that area and from the way his younger self was staring at the sheet, he sensed he was experiencing the same feeling. His younger self glanced behind him to ensure he was still alone, then pulled at the sheet covering the frame. When it dropped to the floor, Lucas caught a glimpse of a dark haired woman in a cream flowing dress.

Before he could examine the painting closer his younger self ran towards the sound of his mothers angry yells and Lucas felt himself being dragged out of the room by an invisible force, then the door slammed closed behind him. Lucas awoke with a start, temporarily unaware of where he was and then realized he was not alone in his bed.

Gail awoke when she felt Lucas tossing and turning, then he sat up unexpectedly and took in a sharp intake of breath. She had never known Lucas to suffer from strange dreams and it was a shock when he displayed the look she always did after she awoke from a nightmare. She saw the confusion in his eyes, then sat up and stroked his bare back gently. 'Bad dream?' she whispered.

Lucas took in another large intake of breath to slow his heart rate, then began to regain his composure. He did not like this feeling of disorientation, especially when he was not alone. He had suffered from strange dreams after his mother had died; however, they had stopped abruptly after he had taken care of his father. He did not have time to ponder over his dream with Gail being here, she was already curious about him and he did not need her curiosity to grow.

Without thinking Lucas pushed her down roughly and climbed on top of her, with Caleb being down the corridor he had shown restraint last night; however, he did not like this feeling of unease and needed to take his mind off it. 'I don't suffer from bad dreams Miss Emory, you must have mistaken me for one of your dramatic friends' he said as he parted her legs with his knees and moved his hands underneath her vest.

Gail was still in a bad mood and had inserted her boundaries last night while Caleb was here, so she gripped his wrists and tried to force his hands out from under her vest in an attempt to display some control; however, he shrugged off her attempts effortlessly and began to play with her bare breasts. 'Now now Sheriff, you leave my friends out of this...' she warned, '...and I thought I made myself clear last night about not doing this'

Lucas nuzzled his nose into her neck playfully and then nipped at her shoulder. 'You don't tell me what to do Miss Emory...besides, the boy is still asleep' he whispered and pinched her nipple hard, then began to stroke it tenderly.

Gail let out a loud moan as the slight burst of pain ran through her body. 'He won't be asleep much longer if you keep on like this Master Buck' she said sarcastically, moving her hands to his back and clawing her nails down it slowly.

Lucas gave off a low moan at the feel of her nails scratching his skin, she knew how to let him know what she wanted without saying a word and it amused him how she could so easily get out of begging. He knew her protestations were automatic and understood she would always try to deny him in an attempt to keep her self control; however, he would never back down from what he wanted and the game they played only made him want it more.

'You know what? You're right...' he said then effortlessly flipped her over on to all fours and pushed her head down into the pillow, '...this way is better suited for what I have in mind'

Gail tried to force down her arousal, but her body betrayed her and she instinctively pushed her behind back into him. Before she could say anything he smacked her bare behind hard and thrust into her, forcing her head further into the pillow. Gail was thankful she had something to silence her moans, as the painful entry caused her to call out. It did not take long for the pain to turn into pleasure and she allowed him to push deeper within her.

Lucas had to bite his lip to stop from calling out and waking up his boy, the pleasurable sensation as she closed in around his manhood was becoming too much so he leaned down and bit her shoulder hard. He loved taking her this way, it allowed him to let his animal urges be free as he pounded in and out of her sweet spot roughly. She pushed herself further into him as he kept biting at her back, the pleasure was so intense as he pushed his manhood deep within her that his teeth pierced her skin when he bit down and her blood touched his tongue.

Gail gripped the pillow tight in her fists, this was punishment and she should not like it; however, even the feeling of his teeth ripping at her skin turned her on and she did not want him to stop. His wild animal like urges tapped into areas of her damaged subconscious which she had worked so hard to push deep down over the years and she could not dismiss her desire for him.

Lucas sensed her climax beginning to rise and pulled his manhood out of her, a move unexpected even to himself. He pulled her off the bed and picked her up into his arms, then automatically headed out of the hidden door in his walk in wardrobe and down a dark set of stairs.

Gail had no idea what was going on, she was about ready to explode when he had pulled out of her and decided to carry her out of the bedroom. He had taken her through some hidden passages in his house once before and she did not dare say anything as she was too intrigued with what he was planning. Suddenly something within her screamed in alarm and it made her excitement disappear, she became very aware that they were moving deeper into the dark parts of the house and something was calling for her to retreat.

Lucas appeared focused on a specific location so she pulled his head towards her and kissed him passionately, in an attempt to get his attention. He stopped for a moment to allow himself to savor the taste of her tongue in his mouth, then placed her down, pushed her against the wall and knelt down in front of her. He ran his hands up her bare thighs then moved his face between her legs, so he could stroke his nose over her sweet spot.

Gail took a sharp intake of breath and allowed herself a glance at the dark door at the end of the corridor, she sensed something malevolent in that place and had no intention of going anywhere near it just yet. She let out a loud moan when she felt Lucas's tongue between her legs, the movement had taken her by surprise and her attention was brought back to her lover. 'If this is what you wanted, your bed was as good a place as any' she panted.

Lucas smiled and nipped at her sweet spot. He inhaled her scent and nuzzled his face into her, not being able to get enough of her aroma. 'I wanted somethin' else Darlin'...somethin' you would've been interest in, but I suppose it can wait' he said between breaths and pushed his tongue inside of her.

Gail allowed him to taste her and make patterns inside her with his tongue, then pulled him up and led him back towards his bedroom. 'My curiosity can wait Sheriff, we have more pressing things to focus on' she said suggestively as she reached for his hard manhood and gave it a little squeeze.

Lucas pushed her roughly against the wall as they reached the back stairs to his bedroom, then parted her legs and thrust his manhood inside of her. He pounded deep into her and it did not take long for them both to unravel. As his climax came, he bit down hard on the back of her neck and pierced her skin again. He loved the taste of her blood on his lips and licked the wound affectionately when he pulled out of her.

Gail turned around and pulled him to her for a passionate kiss, then headed up the stairs to the bedroom. She had no desire to stay in the dark passage any longer than she had to and she sensed Caleb was close to waking up; therefore, she needed to ensure they were presentable when that happened.

Lucas smiled to himself as they returned to his bedroom, taking her by surprise to a mysterious part of his house had dampened her curiosity instantly. It appeared his son had been correct with his suggestion and he would remember that for the future.

* * *

Matt sat on the edge of his bed with his head in his hands, something had happened yesterday and he cursed himself for not being able to remember. He felt as though he had drank too much alcohol and was suffering from a hangover; however, that would be impossible as he had been sober for years. He remembered being outside Lucas Buck's mansion but that was where his recollection ended.

Loris had come to check in on him earlier and informed him Floyd had dropped him off at the Boarding house yesterday evening, after stating Lucas had ordered him to ensure he was returned home safely. She had tried to quiz Floyd on why Lucas would care; however, the dim man just shrugged and returned to his police cruiser. Loris informed him that he had been in a dazed state and she had just about managed to get him to eat then had put him to bed.

The whole situation was making him feel uneasy, it was as though he had blacked out something important and no matter how hard he tried to recall what it was, he could not. A quiet knock on his door interrupted his train of thought and he sighed. 'I told you I'm fine Loris, leave me be' he called in frustration.

Merlyn opened the bedroom door slowly, hoping she would not catch Matt in an inappropriate position. She had stopped by to look for some books from Miss Holt's private collection and had overheard a discussion about Matt in the kitchen, it appeared Caleb's friends mother was trying to find out some gossip about what Matt had been up to last night and mentioned he seemed as though he was drunk. Merlyn knew that would never happen; therefore, she took it upon herself to check on him, as Gail appeared to have fallen out with her best friend. When she popped her head around the door carefully, she just smiled at Matt's frustrated look. 'Mornin' sleepy head...aren't you late for work?' she asked and ignored the glance of irritation she was getting.

Matt rolled his eyes at his visitor, he did not need the strangeness that came with this girl right now. 'I'm none of your concern...go away' he said abruptly, getting up off the bed and searching for a T Shirt to cover his bare chest.

Merlyn glanced curiously at his toned figure, he kept it hidden well and she suspected she was one of only a few women that had seen him this way. She disregarded his request and sat down on the bed, Matt had been good for her family previously and Gail would not forgive herself if something happened to him. 'You're my concern when you're acting like your slippin' and you're not talkin' to Gail. She'd go crazy if you gave Lucas any reason to send you back to Juniper'

Matt picked up a T Shirt, then threw it down in anger at the sound of Lucas's name. This girl turned up out of nowhere and everyone had just disregarded her strange presence here as though it was normal. He had witnessed what Gage Temple had allegedly done to his daughter and that poor girls face had been imprinted on his mind for months after the incident, he was not stupid or naive and he certainly was not in the mood to remain oblivious. 'You look the doppleganger of Merlyn Temple...who are you?' he asked, trying to take the attention off himself.

Merlyn had come here for her own purpose and did not have the patience for games. 'It doesn't matter who I am...' she said dismissing his comment, '...Why aren't you talkin' to Gail?'

Matt regarded the girl curiously, he respected that she was not beating around the bush and there was something about her that demanded honesty. 'She was pregnant with his child' he said in a disdainful tone.

Merlyn's feature did not change, she just remained calm and collected. 'What Gail was is none of your concern...what's your problem?'

Matt let out a small laugh and shook his head. 'Just like that I'm to disregard my instincts about you and what I found out about Gail?' he asked in disbelief.

Merlyn stood up and approached Matt. 'You're gonna make it known that you believe Merlyn Temple is back from the dead? or that the only real friend you had in this town was pregnant with Lucas Bucks child? Who I am or what Gail was is irrelevant...you're not a judgmental person Matt, you help people and you're not gonna be able to continue doin' that if you start ranting about dead people or push away the only person who fought for you in this town'

Matt considered her words, then grimaced when a sharp pain surged through his head. He suddenly remembered being around Gail last night; however, he could not recall where or why. He backed up and sat down on the bed then held his head in his hands, the more he tried to remember what happened last night the worse the pain in his head got.

Merlyn watched Matt curiously, she did not know what was happening but she suddenly felt drawn to him. She sensed he was in pain and wanted to take it away, so she approached him slowly then knelt down and instinctively placed her hands gently on his cheeks. She smiled reassuringly when he looked deep into her eyes, then she felt a sharp pain surge through her head and a flash of the mysterious dark haired woman from the river bank was etched into her mind. She let go of Matt and fell back onto the floor, not knowing what had happened.

Matt had felt relief when the pressure in his head decreased after the girl touched him; however, he became concerned at the look of horror on her face. 'What is it? Are you OK?' he asked, rushing to her side.

Merlyn was shivering on the floor and wrapped her arms protectively around her knees. She was not alright, she was frightened and sensed something dark was coming.

* * *

Lucas sat his car pondering over the strange dream which had caused him to wake so abruptly this morning. He was not used to dreams of this nature and he did not appreciate having the feeling that something was hidden from him, this whole thing did not sit right with him and he could not stop thinking about it. The more he cast his mind back to his childhood, the more he sensed his mother had been keeping a close watch on him to ensure he did not uncover something specific and he curious as to what this may be.

His mother had been an unusual woman with peculiar tastes; however, she was very smart and caring. He thought back to all the times she had allowed him to help out in her Wicca store and how the townspeople used to frown at a young boy being allowed to go near such a thing, they did not know she was preparing him for the future and teaching him the art of control. Without his mothers teachings he would not be as patient as he was and his rule over Trinity would be much more sinister.

Lucas could not get thoughts of his mother out of his head, she had been in his dream and he was not naive enough to believe it did not mean anything. He was beginning to get frustrated with the situation, his twin was whispering the location of where he needed to go; however, Lucas had not been there for years. The place held deep sentimental value to him and he did not want to disturb whatever now lay there.

Lucas slammed his fists down hard on the car dash board in agitation, then opened his drivers side door and exited the car onto the Juniper House car park. He knew what he was required to do whether he wanted to or not; however, he had business to attend to with Billy-boy and he needed to nip the mans ideals in the bud before others starting following suit. The last thing he needed with everything else that was going on was an uprising in Juniper House.

* * *

Gail stood in the middle of the Wicca store surveying her surroundings, she had chosen to come alone this time and hoped to find the answers she was looking for. She should have been reluctant to come back here after what had happened previously and her common sense was screaming for her to leave; however, she had not gotten so far in life by running scared at a few warning signs and she was not going to start acting like that now. She did not know what she hoped to accomplish by coming here, but she had been drawn here and would not leave until she found something to provide her with some clarity.

Gail felt a cold presence surround her and let of an involuntary shiver. She sensed that she was being watched and the way she handled herself here may be important; therefore, she shrugged off her caution and began to walk around the room. The presence was still in the room with her but she felt it move further away, she took a deep breath to calm her heart rate and made a mental note of everything that was in the room before deciding where to go next.

The room itself was deceivingly large and a thick layer of dust coated everything. It was a shame that such an intriguing store had been neglected and left in this state, with a little time spent this could be brought back to it's original condition. There were a lot of items and books that still appeared in good condition, all they would need was a good clean to get this place back up and running.

Gail did not know what use Trinity would have for a Wicca store; however, the more time she spent here the more she liked the place. It was evident that the initial owner had put a lot of effort into making this place unique and it was a shame to let it all just wither away.

A small glass bowl fell from a wooden cabinet and shattered on the floor, Gail turned quickly towards the unexpected sound the glanced around the room to ensure she was still alone. She approached the broken bowl curiously, then knelt down and picked up a shard of glass. She turned it over in her fingers with fascination and took a sharp intake of breath when the glass sliced through her skin. Gail instinctively placed her bleeding fingers in her mouth then stood up and examined the spot where the bowl had initially been placed. There was nothing that could have caused the bowl to fall and although she had opened a window to air the place out when she had entered, it was a calm day with no strong winds that could have been forceful enough to blow the bowl over.

Gail returned to the center of the room and looked around slowly, everything appeared to be in the correct place and nothing else had moved. She began to feel a small knot in her stomach and pushed the feeling away quickly, knowing it was fear starting to fester within her. She would not succumb to fear, it was no longer an option. Her normal life had been turned upside down since she had returned to Trinity and the time for being naive had passed. With all the strangeness and the changes within her that had happened over the past year, it was time for her to take control of the situation and embracing whatever was happening was the only way forward.

Suddenly a book dropped off the bookshelf behind the broken glass bowl and landed with a loud thud. Gail did not allow her body to react to the unexpected noise and inhaled deeply before turning her head in that direction. It occurred to her that something may be trying to get her attention and stop her mind from wandering, which caused another involuntary shiver.

The feeling of being watched became more intense and Gail summoned all her strength to push down her instinct to run, she slowly moved towards the fallen book then inspected the area around it. She chose to deem the fallen book itself as unimportant, from the cover it was evident the book was about foresight and she did not want to think about that right now as it would only distract her.

She continued to survey the area and her eyes stopped when they came across a set of drawers, the drawers themselves held no meaning to her; however, there was a smudge in the layer of dust that coated the top of the drawers, as though someone had ran a finger over the top. The knot in her stomach returned and this time she could not push it away, she heard a creak in a floorboard at the other side of the room and forced herself not to turn around. She ran her finger over the smudge mark then discovered what she already knew when she tried to open the top drawer, which was that the drawers were locked.

Gail took a small step back, ignoring the second creak in the floorboards which appeared slightly closer. She took a deep breath in an attempt to remain calm and stared at the drawers in front of her, allowing Rosemary to join her internal debate. 'If you were his mother and you wanted to hide something, a set of locked draws would be an option...' she spoke aloud to herself, trying to tune out the distraction of whatever was moving closer to her. '...but my first port of call if I was trying to find that certain something would be to search the only set of locked drawers in the room'

Gail glanced at the bookshelves either side of the drawers and shook her head. 'I'm a Buck and I'm certainly not conventional, why would I have to hide something when my family clearly run this town?...We'll ignore that for now, let's focus on what I'm hiding...' she pondered and returned her stare to the drawers, '...It would be personal, maybe something just for me that I wouldn't want the boys in the family to find...Why are the boys so important?'

Another book fell from the bookshelf but Gail did not turn around. 'Why are the boys so important?' she repeated then knelt down to inspect the bottom of the drawers, there was a small gap between the bottom drawer and the floor which Gail had not noticed before. She instinctively forced her hand in the gap and stroked underneath the bottom drawer, then smiled when her hand brushed against something.

She tugged gently and pulled out an old faded photograph that had been taped to the bottom of the drawer. She examined the photo and shook her head when she realized it was a picture of a cabin in the woods, at the far end of the horizon she caught sight of a river and instantly knew where she had to go.

A loud creak behind her caused her to stand up quickly and she turned around to face whatever was behind her, when she turned and glanced around the room it appeared she was alone. She felt a presence surround her and rushed out of the Wicca store, not wanting to overstay her welcome. When she was safely back outside, she let out a sigh of release and rushed to her car. Gail knew what she had to do and just hoped she had the strength to continue on her path.

-To be continued-


	5. Chapter 5

Lucas strolled casually out of Juniper House with a smile on his face, he had visited a few patients and was confident that Billy's trials would not be as successful as the man had hoped. The ease in which his people obeyed him always put him in a good mood, he just wished the people closest to him would follow suit.

As he strolled towards his car he began to plan his next move. He needed to visit his mothers sacred place and his home to gain some clarity about certain things, as he began to suspect an outside influence was guiding Gail and he wanted to know more; however, he had something more important to do while her attention was elsewhere. He would deal with her in good time, but for now he would take advantage of the situation at hand.

* * *

Gail stood staring at the old cabin not far from the Trinity river, it was well hidden and would have been difficult to find; however, she had been drawn to this area as soon as she had left her car at the side of the road. She recognized the cabin instantly from her dreams and the picture she had found in the Wicca store. She sensed something dark surrounding the cabin and was not ready to enter this place just yet; therefore, she cautiously walked around the side of the building and headed for the river.

Gail had began to doubt her decision to embrace whatever this was and to dig deeper, she did not scare easily; however, there was something about the air here that was different, almost haunting and the closer she got to the river the more she felt her inner presence Rosemary fade. She had been aware of Rosemary since she had awoken from her coma and she had done some terrible things under her influence, it was concerning that the dark guardian she had come to think of Rosemary as being was disappearing with the more she found out.

When she reached the clearing and surveyed her surroundings, she instantly recognized the spot she had been standing across the river on a few nights earlier with Billy and Merlyn. This is where the mysterious dark haired woman had been standing when her presence was first revealed, she sensed a darkness here that she did not care for and felt drawn closer towards the river.

Gail exited the clearing and approached to water cautiously, her feet felt like lead with each step she took and she began to feel something strange stir within her. When she reached the edge of the riverbank she inhaled deeply and stared at the vast river in awe, she could not deny that she loved it here and the water always made her feel at ease. Without thinking she placed her foot carefully into the water and began to walk forward slowly, the water was cold around her ankles; however, this did not bother her as she continued moving forward. She felt the current gently move her as she delved deeper into the river, all control of her body was lost and she could not stop herself from continuing on this path.

Gail caught a glimpse of something to her right and froze, she saw two woman standing face to face and began to cautiously move in that direction. When she got closer she recognized the mysterious dark haired woman in a tattered, torn cream dress. The woman in front of her was dressed in a pristine deep green dress, with her immaculate blonde hair in a tight bun. Both woman looked like something out of a period drama. Gail shook her head and began to doubt her vision, assuming her mind was playing tricks on her; however, when the blonde woman struck the other woman hard across the cheek and she saw the vicious smile come across the dark haired woman's face, she somehow knew this was not a trick.

Suddenly the women began fighting and pulling at each others hair, the blonde woman took out a knife that was hidden in her dress and stabbed the dark haired woman in the side. The screech that came out of her mouth was like nothing Gail had ever heard before and the blonde woman jumped on her, then pushed her head beneath the water.

Gail shouted in an attempt to intervene; however, her calls fell on deaf ears. The dark haired woman struggled for a few moments, then her arms dropped and her body floated face down in the water. Gail watched as the blonde woman spat on the corpse and walked back towards the riverbank, leaving the floating corpse in the water. Gail approached the body feeling sick to her stomach and without a second thought turned the body over to confirm what she already knew.

A single tear ran down her cheek as she stared into her own face and she touched the bluing dead lips of the corpse tenderly. She felt a surge of anger flow through her body and closed her eyes, when she opened them again she was alone in the freezing cold water and the body had disappeared. Gail raised her head to the sky, closed her eyes again and yelled out in frustration, she could not disregard what she had just witnessed as she sensed it was true; however, she did not know what to make of it all.

When she opened her eyes again and stared across the water at the other side of the river, she saw Merlyn stood on the opposite riverbank watching her with a worried look on her face and her new friend Earl was close by her. This girl seemed to show up at the strangest of times these days, it appeared they were connected in more ways than just being family; however, she would not be tempted away from her current path and decided to let that go for now.

Gail knew what she had to do and no amount of judgement from the girl was going to change that. She shot Merlyn a warning glance knowing the girl would sense it no matter how far away from each other they where, then turned around and started to walk back to the riverbank she had come from. She would return to her car then find the answers she needed once and for all.

* * *

Billy walked down the overly bright corridor of Juniper House, reading through his next patients chart. He was in a good mood today and had finally started to feel like he was making some progress here, regardless of the disapproving attitude that he got from his staff. The patients here had all been abandoned and the townspeople appeared happy to allow them to rot, as a Doctor he had sworn an oath to help people in need and he would continue to do everything in his power to help these poor souls.

Billy approached Emit McGraws room and smiled, this was his most prominent patient who had the highest level of success with the new treatments he had introduced. Emit had been a very angry man and had just been waiting die in this place; however, he had taken well to their one to one counseling sessions and had actually started to integrate back into the group counseling sessions.

No matter what his staff thought about his methods, Billy was proud of Emit and he remained his greatest success; therefore, he had decided to reward him with extra outdoor privileges, knowing Emit was fond of being outside in the garden. He believed this would make Emit happy and he would continue to progress with the treatment, which would ultimately allow him to be reintegrated back into society.

Billy knocked on the door of Emits living quarters and waited patiently for him to answer. He had decided to provide his patients with some space to allow them to feel like they were more in control; therefore, with certain patients the staff were not allowed to barge in uninvited. When Emit did not answer Billy pulled out a set of key's and opened the door. 'Rise and shine Emi...' he started, then the smile on his face disappeared.

Emit was hanging from the ceiling with his bed sheets wrapped around his neck in noose. To the right of Emit were two other patients who had also been undergoing Billy's trial treatments, their wrists appeared to be slit and they lay in a pool of their own blood on the floor in front of the bed.

Billy looked into Emits lifeless eyes and felt his heart sink, his whole body froze and he could not breathe. How could this have happened on his watch? The treatment had been working and these turn of events were completely unexpected.

'What did you do?' Lucas asked smugly from behind him.

Billy ignored him and continued to stare at Emit with confusion. 'It was working' he whispered then put his head in his hands.

Lucas took hold of Billy's arm and gently pulled him out of the room, he pushed him towards Caleb who was waiting a small distance away in the corridor and winked at his boy. 'The good Doctor here is havin' an episode, go take him to his office while I deal with this situation'

Caleb nodded obeditenly and took Billy's hand, Billy allowed himself to be led by the boy then turned back towards Lucas for a moment.

'You're gonna owe me Billy-boy' Lucas said with a devilish grin, then entered the room.

Billy watched the man disappear into Emit's room and felt a wave of despair flow through him.

* * *

Matt stood outside the gates of the Buck mansion, staring at the vast property in disgust. A man like Lucas Buck did not deserve to be rewarded for his evil ways and it was becoming hard for him to accept that the man was winning in life. He gave himself a mental shake to regain his focus, he had not come here to dwell on his resentment for the man and he did not want to get distracted.

Matt opened the gate slowly and a shiver ran up his spine when it made a loud creaking sound. It was not his intention to have a run in with Lucas here and he was glad to see the mans car was nowhere to be seen. All he wanted was some clarity of what had happened yesterday and being here was the last thing he remembered.

'Be careful what you wish for...' Gail said approaching from behind, '...you might not like what you find here'

Matt froze at the sound of Gail's voice, she had completely discarded him after he had gone through her medical records and he was not prepared for a run in with her. He took a deep breath and turned towards his old friend, now was as good a time as any to deal with his discomfort with their situation. 'You sound like you're speaking from experience, have you found something here you don't like?' he asked, curious as to why she was here when Lucas was not.

Gail let out a small laugh and walked past him, she was trying to keep to her initial decision to renounce her friend; however, seeing him the previous night and now made her remember how much she cared for him. 'What I've found is no-ones business but my own...What are you doing here Matt? You're not exactly welcome on this property'

Matt sensed her exterior soften and smiled, 'Oh I just wanted to stroll around this monstrosity to get my extra steps in for the day'

Gail stopped in her tracks, then turned around and looked at him suspiciously. 'I can think of safer places for you to step your exercise...if Lucas finds you snooping around here he won't be impressed' she warned.

'Well it's a good job I have you here to protect me Miss Emory' Matt smiled and let out a small laugh when she rolled her eyes in mock frustration at him.

Gail sighed and shook her head, deep down she knew she could not hold a grudge against her friend and trying to keep it up was a waste of both their time. 'Spit it out Matt, what is it that you want?'

Matt shrugged and glanced around the garden. 'I'm having a little trouble remembering what I got up to yesterday and the last thing I remember was being here'

'You're not havin' another black out are you Harvard?...' Lucas said approaching the pair with Caleb by his side, '...I'd hate to think you started up drinkin' again'

Gail let out a long sigh and cursed herself for getting distracted by Matt, if she would have left him be she could have been at the back of the property unnoticed by now.

Matt went to answer the accusation; however, Gail took hold of his shoulder and gently pulled him beside her. 'Did school let out early today?' she asked in an annoyed tone, steering the subject away from her friend.

Caleb hid behind Lucas so not to draw attention to himself, but Lucas put his hand protectively on his shoulder and pulled him to his side. 'I took the boy out for an educational field trip, unfortunately we got way laid with the incident at Juniper House and we've had to come home to clean up'

'What incident?' Matt asked worried.

Gail glanced at Caleb disapprovingly, then spotted blood on the cuff of Lucas' sleeve which was resting on her cousins shoulder. She felt something pulling her attention towards the back of the property; however, she knew about Billy's trials and could not ignore her concern for her friend. 'Where's Billy?' she asked Caleb.

'Billy-boy is...' Lucas started but Gail shot him a warning glance.

'Was I talking to you?...' she interjected sternly then turned her attention back to her cousin, '...So help me Caleb, you will answer me now'

Caleb could sense the anger in his cousin so he shrugged Lucas' hand off his shoulder and went to her. 'He's fine Gail, he's just shook up I guess' he said reassuringly.

Gail calmed slightly with his words and ruffled his hair playfully. 'We will discuss your school habits of late at some point'

Caleb looked down at his hands in an attempt to avoid eye contact with his cousin, she had not brought up him missing class previously and he had been dreading when she finally decided to focus on the matter.

Lucas placed a reassuring hand on his sons shoulder again and stepped between them. 'The boy's out with his father learning some real lessons Darlin', no further discussion is needed'

Gail let out an irritated laugh and shook her head in disbelief. 'Unless the boy's father is qualified enough to home school him, a discussion is most certainly required...unless he's to end up like some Deputies in this town who have a brain as big as a fly'

Matt inhaled sharply in horror and took a few steps back, clearly they had both disregarded his presence and he could not believe what he had just heard. 'His father?' he asked bewildered.

Gail's heart sank and judging by Caleb's reaction of hiding behind Lucas, she gathered he was experiencing the same emotion. She cursed herself for being stupid and getting so distracted by Lucas that she forgot Matt was present, it was bad enough that he had found out she had previously been pregnant with Lucas' child; however, this revelation would be much harder for him to accept. 'Matt I...'

'No!...' he snapped, pulling away from her hand which was clearly trying to console him. '...What the hell happened when I was gone? How long have you known?'

Lucas sensed the anger in the man and instinctively stepped in front of Gail. 'You better calm down now Harvard...this is my property and we are having a family discussion that you have no part of'

Caleb saw the change in Matt instantly when Lucas mentioned family and before anyone could do anything Matt punched Lucas square in the jaw, causing him to fall back and then grabbed the cuff of his shirt aggressively. Lucas brushed Matt's hands away effortlessly and punched him hard in the nose making it bust wide open, then both men began to fight.

Gail froze for a second not knowing whether to shield Caleb from this craziness or attempt to break the fight up. She could feel something dark rising within her and sensed something watching them all, she turned for a moment to survey her surroundings and saw the mysterious dark haired woman standing in front of a tree at the far end of the garden.

Everything suddenly turned to slow motion, she saw the woman grin at her with sharp teeth and closed her eyes then turned away in horror. When she opened her eyes she was facing the men and witnessing Lucas kneeing Matt hard in the chest, before she could stop it the darkness inside her shot out of her body violently and screamed for them to stop. Both men were suddenly thrown in opposite directions and she watched in horror as Matt hit his head on a tree as he fell to the ground, then passed out.

Lucas stared at Gail in anger and confusion, the only person that had been able to take that sort of action against him was Merlyn when she was at her most powerful and this had been completely unexpected. This action coming from his love was concerning and he could not think straight.

Caleb looked from Lucas to Matt and then to his shaking cousin, he could not believe what he had just witnessed and he did not know what he was supposed to do. His instincts kicked in and he ran to his cousin without further hesitation, then gave her a long hug. Her skin had gone cold and he could feel her shivering in his arms, he did not understand what had just happened; however, he knew where his loyalties lay and his instincts were telling him to get his cousin away from this situation right away.

Lucas stood up and shot a warning glance at Caleb, he sensed the boy was trying to shield Gail and felt his twin clawing to be released to deal with this situation; however, with how angry Lucas was he could not trust his dark half around any of them at this present time. He needed to talk to Gail to figure out what was going on, he could hear the faint laughter of his father on the wind and that was making his rage every stronger. 'Get away from her son' he said calmly.

Caleb sensed something change in Lucas and went to challenge him; however, he felt Gail's arms finally tighten around him and turned his attention to his cousin. 'Are you alright?' he asked.

Gail inhaled deeply to regain control of herself and forced a smile. 'I'm fine...can you take Matt home for me? It not far and some fresh air might do him some good'

'But he knows...' Caleb started then stopped when Gail placed her finger gently on his lips.

'Don't ever be ashamed of who you are Caleb...' she said then glanced towards Matt who had awoken and raised her voice so he could hear, '...The adults will talk later, but for now I need you both to leave'

Matt pulled himself up then approached the group, he shook his head disapprovingly and forced a reassuring smile for Caleb. 'Come on, I haven't spent much time with you for a while...Miss Holt would also love to see you'

Caleb smiled then looked towards Lucas apologetically, Gail and Matt had been there for him to get him through when Merlyn had died so he shared a close bond with them both. He was happy to spend time with his father; however, he was not ready to choose him over his first true family.

Lucas nodded, sensing his boys inner conflict and signaled for him to leave with Harvard. All his attention was on Gail at this moment in time and the boy would only get in his way. When he was sure Caleb was far enough away, he stepped closer to his love. 'Either you're a quicker study that I thought you were, or you're hidin' somethin' from me...which is it?'

Gail resisted the urge to look towards the woman she knew was still watching them and smiled when she realized Lucas could not sense her. 'You of all people are accusing me of hiding something?...' she laughed, '...I don't know what you're talking about Sheriff'

Lucas narrowed his eyes at her and shook his head at her blatant lie. He sensed she was not alone and opened his minds eye to observe their surroundings, there was a void on his property and he was becoming agitated that he could not pierce through it's barrier.

'What's wrong Lucas, is that all seeing eye of your's on the blinker?' Gail mocked.

Lucas did not like knowing something was going on in his town without him being aware of it, especially when it appeared to be resonating from his property. Before he could stop himself, he released his twin to hunt down the cause of the void and turned his full attention towards Gail. 'You better be careful Darlin', the only reason you've been able to wander so freely is 'cause I've respected your privacy...it appears you've not been respectin' mine, which means I need to keep a closer eye on you'

Gail shook her head and rolled her eyes, of course he thought this was all about him. 'You're so vain, I stopped digging into your history when I located Malcolm...I will pick that up again at some point and believe me when I say you can't hide your past forever sweetheart'

Lucas grabbed her arm roughly and pulled her towards him. 'If you're not diggin' into me then what are you up to Gail?'

Suddenly Gail sensed an intrusion in her mind, it pierced through her brain and she was taken back to the river. She watched in horror as the dark haired woman was drowned again right in front of her, then with a flash she was back in Lucas' garden.

Lucas let go of Gail's arm and stared at her suspiciously, he had never shared a vision with someone before so this was very concerning. 'Where was that Gail?' he demanded to know.

Gail pulled her arm free of his grasp and watched as his features started to change, she had always known he did not like being kept in the dark and this appeared to be bothering him more than he wanted to show. She saw his usual playful manner had turned cold and took a step back. 'I don't know what you're talking about' she lied and backed away from him slowly.

Lucas smiled and shook his head, his power was always increased on his property and he felt it flow through him now. He did not know what to make of their shared vision and he certainly did not appreciate her denial.

Gail could sense the malice behind his smile and felt her instincts take over, without warning she ran to the tree she had seen the dark haired woman stood by earlier then suddenly felt something stir within her. It felt as though her dark passenger Rosemary had finally fully awoken; however, rather than just taking control of her like the presence had done previously, it appeared to be merging with her subconscious and she felt a wave of power flow through her.

Lucas had laughed when Gail ran away from him and reached out with his mind for his twin to rejoin him. He walked slowly towards his love feeling his rage grow stronger with every step, he did not know what he intended to do; however, he would get the answers he wanted once and for all. As he neared his destination he sensed an invisible barrier surrounding the tree, he tried to step through it but something appeared to have stopped him. 'Oh come on Darlin', you're using my own tricks against me now?' he laughed.

Gail watched curiously as Lucas appeared to be blocked from coming any closer to her, then the color of his eyes changed and she could sense something moving beneath his skin. 'I don't need your parlor tricks heathen' she spat out in a voice unlike her own.

Lucas' smile disappeared and he felt his twin rejoin him, something had changed in his love and he could sense her darkness close to the surface. This had been what he had wanted, to see her true self completely; however, something in his property appeared to be helping her and he needed to regain control of this situation if he was to turn it in his favor. 'If you're so much purer and better than I am, why are you hiding? Is it because you're scared of me?...Being a fragile woman, I suppose I can't blame you for being afraid' he goaded.

Gail took a step forward to challenge his comments, then stopped. She spotted Gideon out of the corner of her eye and caught sight of a silhouette towards the back of the property. She felt something dark within her itching to be released to challenge Lucas' ego; however, she was still fully in control of herself and she was smarter than to fall for his bait. Gail stood tall and focused her mind, after a moment she shot him a cunning smile then turned and ran towards the back of the property.

Lucas watched as she retreated to the place he had warned her to keep out of on numerous occasions, the barrier was still preventing him from following her; therefore, he walked towards his house calmly and entered his domain. He smiled to himself as he walked down the long hallways towards the back of the house, he felt like he was stalking his prey and it brought out an excitement that he had not felt in a long time.

Suddenly his subconscious made him stop and turn to his right, it was the corridor he had seen in his dream and he felt drawn to the room at the end. He now had a choice, did he allow Gail more time to get the upper hand in this little game or did he did he follow his instincts and go to the room? 'Aww hell' he sighed in frustration and started walking towards the room, his love would just have to wait a little longer for his arrival.

-To be continued-


	6. Chapter 6

Caleb sat at the kitchen table in the Boarding house drinking a glass of juice with Matt, there had not been any conversation on the walk over and this whole situation was making him feel uncomfortable. Caleb had called home as soon as he had arrived and asked Merlyn to come and get him, he liked the Boarding house and appreciated everything Miss Holt had done for him previously; however, he had outgrown this place and wanted to be with his family, especially after what he had witnessed Gail do.

Matt had taken a hard hit to the head and was still nursing his wound. Caleb could not tell whether he was more upset over the injury or that Lucas was his father, he suspected it was the latter. This whole thing had taken him off guard and he did not know how to handle the situation, he was not ashamed of who his real father was; however, he felt bad at how Matt had found out.

Caleb chose to put that out of his mind for the moment, he had more pressing matters to consider like his cousins actions. He did not understand how she had done what she did; however, it reminded him of what he had once done to protect Merlyn and he wondered if she was different like him. He had known Lucas and Merlyn were different, but had not considered Gail was too. With the look on her face after she had forced Lucas and Matt apart, he gathered she was as confused as he was and he felt an overwhelming urge to protect her. 'How's your head? Do you remember much of what happened' he asked, trying to establish how much Matt knew.

Matt let out a bitter laugh then touched his head gently with his hand and grimaced at the sharp jolt of pain which surged through him. 'I remember enough...how long have you known?'

'About Gail?' Caleb asked surprised.

Matt narrowed his eyes suspiciously at Caleb, 'Gail? What about Gail?'

Caleb gave himself a mental shake when he realized he was talking about Lucas and forced a smile. 'Oh nothin', she's alright...I've known for a while'

Matt let out a small laugh and shook his head in frustration. 'How long is a while Caleb? Is this common knowledge?'

Caleb shrugged, he did not want to talk about this now that he had establish Matt did not appear to remember what Gail had done.

'Is what common knowledge?' Merlyn asked as she entered the kitchen.

Matt rolled his eyes, then got up to find himself some tablets to dull the pain in his head.

Merlyn watched Matt for a moment then regarded Caleb curiously as he stared out of the kitchen window, clearly avoiding eye contact with everybody. 'What have I walked into?' she asked with a nervous smile, then her smile disappeared when she saw the angry look on Matt's face.

'You know, I'm the one that was locked up as crazy but I'm starting to realize your whole family is damaged!' Matt snapped at Caleb.

'Hey!' Merlyn yelled protectively.

Caleb felt something dark rise within him and he jumped up off his seat. 'We're damaged? We ain't the ones who drove drunk and killed our family'

'Caleb!' Merlyn yelled, not believing what she was hearing.

Caleb disregarded his sister and embraced his darkness, it felt good to speak out for himself and witnessing Gail let go had gave him a sense of confidence. 'You know, we cared for you and looked after you when you were let out of the nut house but all you can do is judge us...You don't deserve us' he snapped, then stormed out of the kitchen leaving Merlyn to deal with Matt.

* * *

Gail reached the edge of the property quickly and surveyed the trees around her, she had expected Lucas to find a way to catch up to her by now; however, he was nowhere to be found. She had noticed a dark figure following her ever since she had entered the woods, at first she thought it was some trick conjured up by Lucas but now she suspected this was something else.

Ever since she had figured out who Merlyn was, she was a lot more open minded and willing to accept the strangeness that appeared to migrate towards her. She was confident that the dark figure would not hurt her and she had other things to attend to at this moment in time; however, she made sure she was aware of the location of the dark figure as she moved deeper into the woods, in case her initial instincts were wrong.

Gail smiled when she spotted the familiar clearing and rushed towards it, she had not been here for a while due to Lucas' warnings and she felt at ease when she stepped out into his families burial site. She walked slowly past the rows of graves until she found one offset far away from the others, as though it did not quite belong. The grave called to her and she felt drawn to it, more so than she had been to her own parents graves and she needed to see it.

As she approached the grave, she noticed the dark figure appeared closer now. She closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath, then opened her eyes to see the pretty blonde woman who she suspected used to own the Wicca shop she was fond of. This was the woman that had disappeared when Merlyn was last here with her and it was a relief knowing no permanent damage had been caused.

Right now the blonde woman disregarded her and focused on the dark figure lurking behind a tree, deep down she knew this was Lucas' mother and she suspected the dark figure was Malcolm. She was past trying to explain how these things could come to be and although she wanted to know more about Lucas' past, she disregarded the apparitions and turned her attention back towards the grave.

Gail knelt down in front of the grave and ran her finger gently down the stone, like the rest of the graves this one was unmarked; however, it felt different to the others and the stone appeared more corroded. She wondered if this was the first person buried here and if so who started this unusual grave site.

The wind picked up around her and she sensed there was not much time, she could hear yelling from the trees and somehow knew this Malcolm was trying to interfere with her plans; however, she refused to allow that. It had taken all her strength to open herself up to whatever this was and she was not ready to stop now, something had drawn her here and for better or worse she would find out why. 'Alright, here I am...' she said calmly, closing her eyes '...You wanted me and now you have me, so show me what I need to see'

The wind speed picked up and was so strong she felt her whole body being pulled from side to side, she tried to remain still on her knees with her eyes closed waiting for a response. Suddenly the wind pressure dropped and everything around her felt calm, Gail opened her eyes to find the mysterious dark haired woman standing on the other side of the grave looking down at he. She took a deep breath to help find her courage and stood up to meet whatever this was, when she stared into the blood shot eyes she gasped in horror and everything went black.

* * *

Lucas stood surveying the room he had found himself drawn to, it was filled with even older antiques than he was used to and he could not believe he had not stumbled across it previously in his adult life. This was the room that he had dreamed of and being in here gave him a faint sense of trespassing, as though he was that small boy again sneaking into a place where he did not belong. The thought was preposterous as the was his home; however, he sensed a presence in the air that did not want him here.

Lucas laughed and walked deeper into the dark room, he was not one to be scared away and the thought that something was trying to deter him from inspecting this room just made him want to be here all the more. He glanced around curiously and retraced the footsteps of his younger self, it did not take him long to locate the large painting hanging on the far wall with a dark red velvet sheet draped over it. Lucas approached the painting slowly and stared at it for a moment, he sensed something lurking behind him; however, he would not allow himself to be distracted, he was the master of this domain and he refused to believe anything would act out against him.

The presence came closer and Lucas let out a smug laugh. 'You seriously wanna mess with me?' he said aloud and shook his head in mock disbelief. He smiled to himself when he felt the presence back off and then turned his full attention towards the painting, he did not know what significance this had but he sensed it was important.

He allowed himself a moment to admire the fine craftsmanship of the red velvet sheet before pulling it down gently to reveal the painting fully, it was a large portrait of a woman just like he had seen in his dream. He stepped back slightly to take in the full painting , the attention to detail was outstanding and it was evident that a lot care had been taken to capture the beauty of the woman's figure. His eyes started at the bottom of the woman's cream dress and he slowly followed it up to her head, her face had been scratched out just like it had in his dream; however, he could still admire her soft features and her flowing brown her.

Lucas inhaled deeply and shook his head, even with the face scratched off it was obvious this was the woman who he had witnessed drowning in the vision he had shared with Gail. He was not oblivious of the resemblance to his love and he felt a deep heat begin to rise within him. He had felt like he had known Gail before when he first laid eyes on her at the Temple farm, he had disregarded the feeling when Caleb had jumped out of the window as he had been distracted with finding his boy; however, he had known her then and began to wonder what else his young self had uncovered that was buried deep down.

Lucas smiled devilishly and ran his fingers gently down the painting. 'I'm comin' for you love' he said aloud and turned to exit the room.

* * *

Gail stood at a clearing in the woods staring out into the Trinity river, it was so peaceful here that she actually started to think of it as her favorite spot in town. Gideon ran up to her and nipped at her ankles affectionate, she bent down and gave the dog a playful push then ran closer to the water to allow him to chase her. She laughed as Gideon caught up to her and tried to jump all over her, then pushed her dog away gently and waded into the water.

The feel of the freezing water on her bare legs made her shiver; however, she loved it and the current brushing against on her skin was like washing away all of her negative feelings. Gail let out a low moan as the water tickled her skin then lay back in the water and allowed it to engulf her, she disregarded the cold and allowed the peacefulness of this place to wash away all of her tensions.

Her attention was taken away from her calm surrounding when Gideon began to bark aggressively, she let out a loud sigh then turned towards the direction of the intrusive sounds. Suddenly something hit her on the head forcefully and she felt blood running down her face. Gail tried to stand up in the water; however, hands gripped her hair tight and pushed her head into the water. The hard blow to her head had had left her dazed and weak, she struggled in an attempt to raise her head above the water but he struggles were unsuccessful.

Gail felt her lungs begin to tighten as water began to flow down her throat, she fought and thrashed out in an attempt to loosen the grip on her head; however, it was too late and she knew her struggles were useless. She did not want to die in this place that had previously brought her so much peace and her thoughts turned to Caleb and Merlyn before she began to choke on the water that was filling up inside her.

As she struggled to take her last breath she felt herself being pulled back up to the surface and she was now face to face with the mysterious dark haired woman, who was twin. Gail stared in horror at her pale gaunt skin and blood red lips, when the lips parted to reveal sharp yellow teeth she tried to scream; however, she could not breath, let alone make a sound. Her twin pulled her face close to hers and kissed her lips softly, then slapped her hard across the cheek and screamed in her face.

Gail awoke with a start laying on the ground in front of the empty grave marked R.B, suddenly she began coughing violently and water came out of her mouth. She rushed to her feet and took a large intake of breath then stared frantically around her, it appeared she was in the far end of Lucas' backyard a short distance from the wooded area. She did not know what had just happened but she could not get enough air into her lungs and had to take long deep breaths to calm herself.

'Am I interrupin' somethin' Miss Emory?' Lucas asked appearing out of nowhere and leaning against a tree close to the grave.

Gail spun around to face him, this was no longer a game and she could sense something dark just below his surface. She attempted to slow her breathing to cover what she had just experienced and forced a smile. 'What could you possibly be interrupting Sheriff?'

Lucas let out a small laugh and began to slowly circle the area around the empty grave. He spotted Malcolm lurking behind a tree in the wooded area not far from them and shot him a warning glance to keep out of this, he smiled to himself when his father obeyed and disappeared. 'So, I take my time and you decide to have a little nap...is that how this goes?'

Gail watched him carefully, he had the look of an animal stalking it's prey and for the first time she started to consider what would happen if she could not control him. Lucas was a control freak, much like herself and it was a constant battlre for who was in control in their relationship. She was the dominant at her home and he was the master of his, they would play and both try to get the upper hand; however, that was the ultimate rule. It now occurred to her that she had involuntarily displayed certain qualities that would tip the scales here and she had been too caught up in finding the truth to consider how a change in power would affect her lover.

'Cat got your tongue Darlin'?' Lucas asked as he appeared beside her.

Gail took a sharp intake of breath, still recovering from what she had experienced then exhaled slowly. She knew better than to show weakness against someone like Lucas and just needed to buy herself some time to regain her composure fully. 'Well watching you trying to insert your will on everybody does become tiresome Sheriff, it can't be helped if it's so boring that it sends me to sleep' she said cattily and took a few steps back in an attempt to create some distance between them.

Lucas shook his head and smiled, then reached out and took hold of her arm gently. He knew something had happened as it was written all over her face and he did not appreciate his domain assisting her, even if she did appear to have a connection with his families past. She tried to pull away from his grasp; however, he tightened his hold on her arm and pulled her to his chest. 'You think this path you're takin' is safe Gail? You need me to show you all the pitfalls to avoid' he whispered in her ear, then inhaled her scent.

Gail could sense the darkness close to his surface trying to break free; however, she also sensed his desire. She could not figure out what was going on with her while he was interfering and needed to find a way to create some space to allow herself to think. She felt the presence within her clawing to be released, she would no longer refer to it as Rosemary as that indicated it was a separate entity and she was starting to believe that was not the case.

Gail knew what she had to do to take his mind off her activities, but she was not happy to willingly allowing it in her current state. She inhaled deeply then smacked him hard across the face, using his shock to her advantage she pulled her arm free and ran into the woods at the back of the property.

Lucas watched as she retreated and smiled, she could not run from him and he would enjoy hunting her down. As he entered the woods and began following her path he could feel his manhood harden, she had ran ahead and created a significant distance between them; however, she was in the deepest part of his domain now and there was no escape.

The thrill of the chase made him excited and he quickened his pace, he was not far from the clearing now and his desire increased with each step. He could not allow whatever this was to continue, he was the master not only of his property but of this town and that demanded respect. Her actions of late were not only disrespectful to him and his ancestor, they were also a blatant disregard of his orders. When he reached her he would take his time to uncover the truth, she would tell him what she knew and then he would decide the best course of action.

Gail reached the grave site with a few moments to spare, she looked around at the graves apologetically and cursed herself for what she had become. She felt something here with her and closed her eyes to regain her focus, when she opened them she saw the blonde haired woman who she suspected was Lucas' mother and did not want her to witness what she was about to do. 'Go...please' she whispered and the woman nodded then obediently disappeared.

When she was sure there was nothing else present she began to walk towards the grave positioned farthest away, she was still drawn to it and she could not banish it's calls from her mind. Before she could reach her destination she sensed Lucas was near, when he emerged from the woods she could see the malice on his face and tried to push down her fear.

'You thought you could run from me Miss Emory?' he asked as he approached her position and released his twin into the atmosphere.

Gail tried to back up towards what she knew deep down was her safe place on this cursed property; however, something dark crossed over Lucas' face and she felt as though hands had reached out from the soil to grab her ankles, she was frozen and could not break free. 'You misunderstood my intentions' she said trying to remain calm.

Lucas licked his lips in anticipation as he closed in on her position, he could sense she was attempting to hide her fear and it pleased him that she was finally starting to understand his power. 'Misunderstood?...' he asked curiously, '...In what way Darlin'?'

Gail inhaled deeply to calm her heart rate, there was no fighting the hold he had on her; therefore, she would just have to do what she had planned right here and have faith in her instincts. Gail closed her eyes and let go of her fear, she allowed the barrier she had fought so hard to keep up drop and felt the presence within her flow freely. 'Oh in every way possible Sheriff' she said playfully and stepped out of his bind effortlessly, then began circling the graves close to them.

Lucas and his twin sensed the change in her instantly, he wanted to be mad at his twin for releasing her so soon; however, he was intrigued as he still sensed Gail in control, but she had appeared to have released her darkness also. He watched curiously as she walked slowly around the graves and stopped in front of one in the middle of the second row, then spat on it viciously unlike herself. 'Now now Miss Emory, there's no need to disrespect the dead'

Gail had fully accepted the presence within her now and it had made her see more clearly. This grave was of the woman who had drowned her apparent self and she could not stop the involuntary action she had just taken. She did not linger at this grave for long, if Lucas was in fact at his most powerful like she suspected she would not make it easy for him to figure out what she could see; therefore, she turned her focus elsewhere and approached Malcolm's grave. 'Oh please, you're telling me every fallen person deserves respect?' she asked kneeling in front of the grave and sensing his anger behind her.

Lucas inhaled deeply as she gently ran her fingers over Malcolm's gravestone, that bastard deserved no respect and it infuriated him seeing the mans gravestone being handled with such care. He could hold back no longer and stormed over to her, bent down to grab her arm then pulled her up roughly. 'You've been a bad girl Gail, I can't have you runnin' around like you have been'

Gail smiled mischievously then pulled her arm free and turned her back to him. She stepped out of her long skirt and slowly took off her cardigan, then glanced over her shoulder suggestively. 'I suppose a bad girl needs to be punished' she teased and bent over to unzip her boots.

Lucas felt his manhood throbbing in his pants, he had not anticipated it being this easy; however, watching her bend over in her lace black thong made him put his initial plans to one side and he could not control his urges any longer. He walked over to her while she was still bent over and placed his hand on the inside of her thigh, then slowly moved it up to her sweet spot. He smiled as she let out a low moan and pushed his fingers inside of her.

Gail had to work to keep her balance as she stepped out of her boots with his fingers playing inside of her, when she straightened up she felt his free hand brush over her stomach and pull her back into him. Gail moved her hair to the side to allow him to kiss her neck for a moment, then pulled his fingers out of her. 'That's not quite the punishment I had in mind' she whispered, then led him towards a tree and placed his hands on her behind.

Lucas moved his hands to underneath her vest and clawed his fingers down her back. He knew exactly what she meant now, it was not often she let him take the place only he had ever be allowed and he did not recall a time were she had actually suggested it. All other thoughts disappeared from his mind and all he could feel was his desire for her.

Suddenly Malcolm's presence appeared at his grave and shouted to his son. He tried to remind him what he needed to do and warned him not to be controlled by this heathen. Lucas closed his eyes to shut out the yells and concentrated on his love, he wanted to take his time with her and continued to caress her back and her hips slowly.

Gail knew by the way Lucas was caressing her that she had nearly accomplished what she had set out to do here, which was to display her loyalty to him; however, she sensed some interference. She could not see or here him, but sensed Malcolm was close and suspected he was trying to guide his son. Gail leaned back into Lucas and reached for his hand and placed it between her legs, she moaned loudly as he played with her then turned towards him and pushed his chest hard to create some space. She smiled playfully at his wounded look and shook her head to indicate the action was not a refusal that he clearly thought it was. 'I want all of you Lucas...what are you waiting for?' she goaded.

Lucas narrowed his eyes at her and shook his head. 'You think you can handle all of me?...' he laughed devilishly, '...Well alright then'

Gail took a step back as Lucas approached her standing tall and turned her around roughly. He parted her butt cheeks then unzipped his pants and thrust his manhood deep into her behind, providing no doubt of who was the dominant. Gail let out a loud moan of pleasure and pain, then gripped the tree in front of her with both hands. Lucas had unleashed his darkness to match hers and his pounding in and out of her was relentless.

Lucas had allowed his twin to take some control and the merging of them both made this act all the more pleasurable. This was his place and only he alone had taken her this way, the fact that she allowed him to have her like this and in what could be seen as a demeaning manner reaffirmed her loyalty to him. Lucas gripped her hips tight and called out her name as the pleasure became more intense with each thrust. He could sense her pain; however, she was not asking him to stop so he continued to allow his twin to play rough.

Gail bit her bottom lip to stifle her yells of pain and tasted a spot of blood in her mouth. When she looked past the tree she saw her past self smiling and tried to relax knowing the pain would be more severe if she was tense. She focused on the small bursts of pleasure breaking through the pain, she would not quit or be seen as weak; therefore, she would allow him to continue in the rough way that he had asked for. Deep down she knew this treatment from him turned her on and she began to feel her orgasm building within her.

Lucas sensed her released coming and quickened his pace, he bit down hard on her shoulder and drew blood as his climax hit then smiled when he heard her call out with her release. He remained in her for a moment stroking her back tenderly, then pulled out of her gently and cleaned her up with his handkerchief.

Gail inhaled deeply and stared at her apparent past self curiously, she closed her eyes then focused all of her strength on the black void within her and when she opened them again her twin was gone. Gail stood up and ran her hands through her hair, then went to walk past Lucas to pick up her skirt; however, he pulled her to his chest.

Lucas kissed her passionately and stroked his nose on hers. 'Now you understand who's in charge' he said staring deeply into her eyes.

Gail held his stare and nodded is mock obedience, as she knew she was supposed to.

His grip tightened on her arms and his look changed to something darker. 'I need to hear it Gail...I can't allow you to continue how you have been'

Gail continued to stare into his eyes defiantly, then chose to swallow her pride on this occasion. 'I know who's boss now' she said bitterly and allowed him to stroke her cheek.

Lucas smiled and kissed her lips softly. 'Come on, lets continue this somewhere else...we've tarnished this sacred place enough for one day'

Gail pushed down her defiant nature and nipped at his bottom lip playfully, she did not want to remain on the property here with him; however, she did not have a choice after what she had started and she needed to ensure he trusted her. Lucas held out her skirt for her to step into, then placed an arm around her shoulder and led her back to the house. As she turned to glance over her shoulder, she saw her past self stood shaking her head in disappointment.

Gail smiled cunningly at her twin, this was the safest option for now and she would deal with everything else another day. This was far from over, contrary to what Lucas thought; however, she would play nice for now.

-The end-


End file.
